Wednesday Poetry Corner

Figure it Out

Figure it out for yourself, my lad,

You've all that the greatest of men have had;

Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes,

And a brain to use if you would be wise,

With this equipment they all began--

So start from the top and say, "I CAN." 

Look them over, the wise and the great,

They take their food from a common plate,

And similar knives and forks they use,

With similar laces they tie their shoes;

The world considers them brave and smart,

But you've all they had when they made their start. 

You can triumph and come to skill,

You can be great if you only will;

You're well equipped for what fight you choose,

You have arms and legs and a brain to use;

And the man who has risen great deeds to do

Began his life with no more than you. 

You are the handicap you must face,

You are the one who must choose your place.

You must say where you want to go,

How much you will study the truth to know;

God has equipped you for life, but He

Lets you decide what you want to be. 

Courage must come from the soul within

The man must furnish the will to win.

So figure it out for yourself my lad,

You were born with all that the great have had;

With your equipment they all began,

Get hold of yourself and say, "I CAN." 

By George Washington Carver

All too often we are beaten down in childhood and led to believe that we are  not as good as everyone else.  We feel that we are unworthy.  Some spend their lives believing that they will not amount to anything.  As a result, we set lower goals for ourselves than those with high self-esteem.   The roots of our self-esteem can be traced our early relationships with our family. As children we believe what our parents tell us, because they are our parents and we love them. We endow them with super-human powers and believe that that they are infallible.  Their word is law. We are children. We don't understand that they can be suffering from low self-esteem as well.

As hard as you might find it to believe, no parent ever planned to give to give low self-esteem to their children, and they are probably unaware that they are doing it.  No parent ever looked into the eyes of their newborn babe and said, "I'm going to make sure this child grows up feeling 'less than'."  My mom had more miscarriages than I can count. I am sure she never set out to deliberately hurt me, the only child she was able to bear. It was her own inner pain that she took out on me. I'm older now, and I understand, but it took me a lifetime to forgive.

Like the above poem says, 'You are the handicap you must face'.  It's time to stop thinking that we can't and believe in ourselves. We are special. We must believe that we can do it...whatever it may be. Believe in yourself with all your might, and never allow anybody or any misfortune to shake that belief. Believe you can and you will live your dream! If you don't believe in yourself, who will? 

You must love yourself before you love another. By accepting yourself and fully being what you are, your simple presence can make others happy.

Anonymous