I thought I would do something a bit different today. I am going to post a video of me reading a poem that I wrote recently. I was feeling a bit frustrated at myself. I tend to be a little bit hesitant to share myself at times because I feel like I don’t have anything special to offer the world. I get that critical voice in my head that says that I am unoriginal and it’s way too full of myself to presume that anyone would want to hear from me about anything. So, I wrote a poem about how I tend to treat myself like I am a visitor in this life. Like I don’t really deserve to be here and so I need to be as polite and kind and make as few ripples as possible. I AM OVER THAT!
I wrote a poem about what I needed to hear.
Here is the text version.
I need to stop treating the world around me like I am a visitor
I used to think that I had to wait till someone else approached me to get to know them
I moved through life thinking that I was the one being interviewed for a job
I needed to prove I deserved to be in any given space at any given time
“I promise I am not an intruder!”
I felt the need to shout, metaphorically
I was quiet and nondisruptive to my fellow men so as to be able to be in places I never felt good enough for
I realized at some point
We all are intruders
We all are interlopers
Every place is for everyone who wants to be there
This earth doesn’t make us prove our worth to her
She just lets us be
And we aren’t the best at reciprocating that sentiment
So take up your own space
You have shrunk yourself to be palatable to the wrong crowd for far too long
Be where you are
You deserve this life as much as any other
So, here’s to taking up space in our own lives and in this world.
Sending love to you out there in the ether,
Stef