The truth about myself—both good and bad—is true.
And it is true whether I see it or not—
Understand it or not—
Like it or not.
And it is true whether you see it or not—
Understand it or not—
Like it or not.
It is who I am.
It is what I am like.
It is what kind of person I am.
It is how God himself—that impartial Judge—would see me.
And while many hide from the truth about themselves—
Overestimating the good and/or underestimating the bad—
I have learned that it would be better never to hide,
But to face it myself courageously, calling it like it is.
But still, I sometimes catch myself hiding—
Not to mention the times when
I hide without realizing it!
I hide from myself and from others—
What I’d rather not see—
Rather not deal with—
It’s not that I’m completely unwilling, mind you,
But please, not right now!
And some of it, I wouldn’t mind changing. Really!
But I’d just like to wait until I feel better—
Until I’m more motivated and energetic,
And not so distracted with other things.
And I am quite busy, you know,
With many important things.
And that’s a good idea and all,
But now’s just not the time.
See! That’s my disposition.
That’s the way I tend to face such things—
Not denying the truth of them so much
As denying them the time and attention they deserve.
I see that I am the victim of my own bad habits
In how I think about such things—
In how I view myself and manage priorities in
The betterment of who I am.
And sometimes—
Certainly more often than I realize—
I simply need someone else
To save me from myself—
To grab me by the lapels
And talk some good sense into me—
To push me where I am stuck—
To pitch in with a strong mind,
Strengthening me where
Mine is still weak,
Until their good convictions
Become mine, too.
And I thank God that
There are some people like that—
However rare—
Who are not only willing,
But good at it—
Who take joy in serving,
And find themselves better off
For doing it—
Who will risk being hated by me
In order to help me get better.
Because one big truth about me—
And everyone else—
Is that we all can change
And learn and grow
And become better than we are.
Some will dare to help you
Without having been asked,
And some you’ll have to
Ask again and again until
They’ll make the time for you,
But when you have got someone
Who will keep telling you the truth
About yourself until you are
Ready to deal with you,
You have got one of
The greatest blessings on this Earth!
I do not believe we were put here
To be stuck—
Though it seems that we are
Quite used to living that way,
As if it were “normal”.
