I thought life was a play,
with the script composed
for the role I was to inhabit.
Designated stage directions
were set for me to follow
for my life to work out seamlessly.
All that was required was for me to
hit my assigned marks:
education, career, marriage, children,
for the production to be a success.
But others refused to
perform their parts,
changing the scene,
or departing before the play was finished,
leaving me floundering
on the boards, alone.
It took time for me to realize
that life had always been improv:
unscripted, hard turns, unpredictable.
I never had control of the narrative,
which caused needless suffering
in the light of the pain that is a part of existing.
Until I let go of demanding that my life
followed a script was I truly free
to find joy in the unknowing.
It taught me that every moment
was saying “yes, and” to whatever entered my life.
Category: Acceptance
-
Life’s Unscripted Journey
-
Embracing Imperfection
“Perfect is the enemy of good,” attributed to Voltaire
How did that sneaky voice slip into my head,
telling me that perfection was attainable?
Was it years of hearing, “practice makes perfect”
that stopped me in my tracks when I longed to
break out of the expected,
keeping me caged in conformity?
Could it have been apprehension
of what other people might think or say?
It was a slow journey,
fighting against self-doubt and feelings of not enough.
I walked with discomfort as I forged ahead
on this uncharted path.
Sometimes the vines of uncertainty
would wrap around me, wanting me to stay put.
Soon, they held no sway over me,
and fell to the wayside.
When I began to let go
of the noise in my head that sought to contain me,
I found a fearless voice waiting to sing,
the shining me that had been there all along.
Beautiful Bittersweet Life Poems 