It requires true courage to not hide from oneself. To stand proudly naked in a mirror and before the world; to look oneself in the eye and see through the veneer of excuses and lies, that covers false pride; to see who one really is, with all one's flaws, underlying faults and horrendous, cancerous defects, to admit and take responsibility for inadequacies, vices and perversions and change them or accept them, own them and be willing to stand up and fight for them; to be, outwardly and unashamedly, who you are. In this, there is no half way. You are either honest or a liar, there is no middle ground on this razors edge, that cuts to the bone. To lie to oneself, is to steal your own honor and pride; to look in the mirror of one's conscience and see only the shadow of perfidy. If you are true to yourself you can not be false to others. To change oneself you must be able to forgive yourself. With out self honesty, you will see nothing that needs correction and thereby no need for forgiveness. Without self forgiveness you can not move on. Do you still not see that forgiveness is for the forgiver, not the transgressor? It frees you from the chains of resentment, anger and hatred, liberating you to move on and live free; clearing your vision from blinding rancorous cankers and lifting the ponderous weight of the anchors that that weigh you down in a quagmire of the past. What are these flames of hell but the burning, self consuming anger and hatred that one stokes and fans in the Birkenau of ones own heart.
-
Author:
sorenbarrett (
Offline) - Published: October 24th, 2022 07:35
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 7
Offline)
Comments1
Powerful my dear friend. In this late stage of life I recognize all that you say, for age allows deeper reflection. Oscar Wilde famously said that "With age comes Wisdom". I would say that with experience comes wisdom, if we're lucky. Maybe youth is wasted on the young. I have found the capacity, at my age, to forgive myself, accept who I was, and understand why I was that person in different stages of my life. I can truly say that I like the person I see in the mirror now, and consider her my friend. Thank you for this deep dive of reflection, it is truly cathartic.
Bella it is always a pleasure to read your comments. I too have found contentment late in life with how I am and am glad that you share that. Thank you so much for reviewing this and your kind words.
To be able to comment and rate this poem, you must be registered. Register here or if you are already registered, login here.