Autobiography In Five Chapters



1) I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost... I am hopeless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.



2) I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I'm in the same place.

But it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.



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.

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.



4) I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.



5) I walk down another street.



Portia Nelson

From: Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Autobiography In Five Chapters



1) I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost... I am hopeless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.



2) I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I'm in the same place.

But it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.



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.

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.



4) I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.



5) I walk down another street.



Portia Nelson

From: Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying