I once read in a book
that we won’t let anyone treat us worse
than we treat ourselves.
That makes me so excited for my next relationship,
because I’m treating myself better and better
every day.
_____________
“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.”–African proverb
Let me be the beta male
or, better yet,
a woman–
because there is
a great strength in softness,
a seismic power in nurturance,
and a mighty force in empathy.
______________
Huge credit to Everything, Everywhere All At Once and Pop Culture Detective’s analysis of it for helping me see this more deeply.
“A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.”-Gloria Steinem
“Your life doesn’t need to have any dicks in it to be rich and fulfilling.”-me
I don’t care
if my poems
are just statements
with line breaks.
I love writing them,
and that’s what matters.
————————-
“Dude, sucking at something is the first step to being sorta good at something”-Jake the Dog
The title of this poem was inspired by this YouTube video.
“An inner voice always used to be an outer voice.” –The School of Life
___________________________________________________________
One day,
I summon the courage
to ask my inner critic
a question:
“why are you so mean to me all the time?”
I ask it with curiosity,
acceptance,
and non-defensiveness.
My inner critic
breaks down crying.
“Because everyone else was so mean to me,”
it replies.
Suddenly, I realize
that the perpetrator in me
and the victim in me
are just the hard and soft manifestations
of the same pain.
_______________________
Other poems in this series:
Adventures in Meditation 1: https://wordpress.com/post/musings-and-music.com/1529
Adventures in Meditation 2: https://wordpress.com/post/musings-and-music.com/1722
I put so much work
into forgiving you
now I need to put
that much
and more
into forgiving
myself
Looking back on our relationship,
sometimes I wonder
if you really hurt me
or if I was just bat-shit crazy.
My conclusion?
I was bat-shit crazy.
But that doesn’t mean
you didn’t hurt me.
__________________________________________________________
Note from the author: Just wanted to remind anyone who needs to hear it that there is no “perfect victim” of trauma. Even in light of your imperfections, your pain is valid. ❤
Musings and Music 