This past Christmas, my mom framed this poem and gave it to my brother and I. Six months ago, this poem honestly didn’t mean anything to me, but now it does. So often we continue on the same road and get stuck in the same spot because our eyes are closed to a different road that can lead us to a better place. We are lost. We are in denial and looking for someone else to blame. We are stuck in our same habits that lead us to the long way out. Hopefully, we can slowly learn to open our eyes and hearts and see. Anorexia is the same street; again and again. It’s taken up chapter after chapter of my life. It is the hole in my sidewalk. The only way I can stop falling in is to take another street. Abandon the security of what I know and do the work to get to that other street…because it’s the one that leads to a better place.
There’s a Hole in my Sidewalk
By Portia Nelson
Chapter 1
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost…I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend that I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in…it’s a habit…but, my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter 4
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter 5
I walk down another street.
