As If We Could Change
But then we certainly try, don’t we?
Could it be we feed on acceptance?
Do we spend our time seeking approval,
each precious second spent in denial of a
fate that certainly awaits us, while
gainsaying the change we desire?
In Meet the Bar at dVerse, — School Days, School Days, Good Old Golden Rule Days — Lillian prompts us to write an Alphabet Sestet, a poem of six lines using consecutive letters of the alphabet to start each line.
Ah…what a conundrum! If we feed on acceptance, and we are accpted as we are, what then motivates change? Perhaps in understanding that everything can be bettered? I’m reminded of the phrase, “Practice makes progress.” Rather than what many say, “Practice makes perfect.”
Glad you posted to the prompt! A good alphabetical sestet!
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Thanks, Lillian. I like that – “Practice makes progress.”
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Good questions. I can be pretty awesome when I get out of my own way
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lol
Thanks!
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We all feed on that acceptance, I agree.
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Human nature, perhaps.
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And those of us who live our lives without the need for acceptance…a good sestet. I agree with Lillian. I used to hear it around the rooms in the 12 Step Meetng – practice makes progress and progress before perfection.
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Thank you.
Even those who maintain an independence of thought learn to tailor their actions, however modestly – greasing the wheels, so to speak.
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We lend too much credence to acceptance when the secret is to accept ourselves, then the acceptance of others seem to come along. Thoughtful write.
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Thank you.
We may not want others to define us, but our interactions do, nonetheless.
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Serious questions – do we really ever change? Now, I’m thinking….
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I think we do, but it seems some behavior is hard-wired, and old habits die hard.
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I agree
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All too often we are indeed help by the desire for acceptance…good questions to meditate.
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Definitely food for thought. I believe we do reach a point where self-acceptance outweighs the acceptance or approval of anyone else.
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I agree with you on that. Then there’s destructive and self-destructive behavior that can sabotage a relationship. As much as they should be, some things can’t be changed.
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This is true. Maybe we just don’t have enough time (on earth) to make some changes. Of course, that comes with knowing what to change and then how to change.
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Yes.
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I like how you use questions in your poem. It grabs attention.
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Thank you!
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Seems to me we are all constantly changing, just not necessarily according to our ego’s wishes. We all age, we all learn and adapt to that learning, we all pick up new mannerisms and speech from whoever we associate with … and (acknowledged or not) we all shift spiritually in response to all the other changes. Nothing is fixed, all is in motion and all is affected by all else. Keeps life interesting! But, as you’ve said, we tend to deny our changing, and where it will eventually lead.
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Yes, indeed. It’s natural to assume your identity is your own, when, in fact, it’s evolving with each interaction.
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seeking acceptance from everyone except from the one that matters most – ourselves – many things to gather for good from your poem
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🙂 Thank you.
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Your thoughtful poem of questions has me thinking now.
Looking for acceptance, denying our inevitable fate–much to ponder!
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Thank you, Merril.
Sometimes I wonder whether the question is one of changing or the inability to change when needed.
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Perhaps it’s both.
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Yes, though we say otherwise, we all tend to see the approval of others. Great take on the prompt.
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Thank you, Dwight.
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Oh, that’s genius, Ken, starting with the A in the title! I like the way your sestet is written as a one-sided conversation.
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Thank you, Kim.
I have to chuckle. I finished the poem and titled it “Immutable.” Then I realized it was seven lines. Thankfully, the first one worked as a title.
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I think learning to say ‘No’ was easier for me than it has been for those who hear that word from me.
Repeating that I am not interested can get tiring, but not getting sucked into what I don’t want to do is the reward.
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The many sides of change.
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I suspect we do feed on acceptance. Nice use of the title as part of the alphabet pattern.
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Thanks, Frank.
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We contradict ourselves (continuously) (K)
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I know I do.
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I enjoyed your reflective thoughts. We even change without recognizing it. Change seems to be a bit of an entity of it’s own sometimes.
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Yes, pulling us along.
Thank you.
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I think it’s very hard to keep going without any sense of pride or praise… though there are those who can keep going only praising themselves.
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I agree. As for those others — regardless of their flaws.
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Ah, I love this inquiry, “each precious second” spent in denial of fate. Excellent sestet.
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🙂 Thank you. 🙂
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