Envy, Jealousy, and Anxiety are beneath me.
Yet, I always stay reverent for what they want to teach me.
They don’t visit as often these days,
but when they do, I have my questions ready:
Why now? Why this? What next?
Though I lift my nose at them
and remind them that they do not belong near me,
I scrutinize them carefully—
for there are always lessons that they are trying to teach me.
Sadness, Self-Pity, and Doubt visit every now and again.
They are the unwelcome visitors
that can’t yet get the hint that I don’t want them around.
And though I linger by the door and sigh deeply,
they still can’t get the point.
So I decide to sit with them awkwardly
as they yammer on about what isn’t enough,
why this was bad,
and what should’ve and what could’ve.
There’s not much I can do about them,
so I just sit and watch
as they make up stories, gossip,
and frame it all in doom and gloom.
Happiness and Laughter—
I treat with great caution, and sometimes even with contempt.
Where were you this entire time
when Sadness wouldn’t leave
and Jealousy tried to minimize me?
Happiness, Laughter, and Joy
are indeed my very, very good friends.
And I always want them with me.
But I know they are fitful—
they come and go as they please.
I try not to be greedy and hold on to them too long,
for they told me they planned to visit you next.
In the intermittence of each visit
is Calmness.
She was with me all along—
but in the loudness of the chaos,
I couldn’t hear her quiet whisper.
She beckons to me always
to sit beside her,
as we observe our visitors
and receive the lessons they have to teach.
Leave a Reply