Now I walk around
The leaning trunk I used to
Bump my head on hard.

Years ago, a giant maple fell in our maple grove but was propped up enough that we could walk under it where it was still attached to the trunk.

Over the years, things slowly shifted until I had to duck in order to get under that obstacle. And sometimes I’d be talking or thinking, and would forget to duck.

BANG!

I mostly learned to be careful, but every once in a while, I’d still forget. Meanwhile, I also had to duck lower and lower to stay unharmed.

Finally, I realized that I needed to change my route and use a spot where I could step OVER the fallen tree, rather than trying to duck under it. And that’s made a huge difference, but it took me a very long time to take in the lesson.

It’s a lesson that reminds me of the old saw about the person who walks down the street and falls into a hole over and over again.

Here’s what Google shared with me about this:

The most well-known story about a person repeatedly falling into the same hole is the poem “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters” by Portia Nelson. The simple, powerful verses serve as an allegory for breaking harmful habits or destructive patterns in life.

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

Chapter I
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.

The following chapters detail the progression of the narrator’s experience with the hole.

Chapter II describes the narrator walking down the same street, pretending not to see the hole, and falling in again. They are surprised to be in the same place but still don’t accept responsibility, and it takes a long time to get out.

Chapter III shows the narrator walking down the same street, seeing the hole, and still falling in out of habit. However, with open eyes, they recognize where they are, accept fault, and get out immediately.

Chapter IV is brief, stating the narrator walks down the same street and walks around the hole.

Chapter V concludes the poem with the narrator walking down another street.

I don’t know if I’m on the same street and walking around the hole, or if I’ve chosen a different path. But I do know that I’m learning, making progress, and my head feels MUCH better!