The concept of the New Year's resolution has never really appealed to me. The few I have made turned out to be trivial in nature and ultimately failed precisely because of their triviality. Resolving to quit smoking or to lose ten pounds or be nicer to people starting the First of January are fine goals in themselves, but they never carried enough gravitas for me to treat them seriously and incorporate them into the fabric of my life in any real or meaningful way. Simply put, when it comes to change, that's not how I roll.
For me, change is not, and has never been about small adjustments or a minor improvements. I don't care much for baby steps or tweaking or tuning or fiddling. If I put my mind to change, I'm not interested in making a somewhat better me, I'm interested in creating an entirely different me altogether. This is the inflection point at which I find myself now. After considerable thought and rumination, I have come to the realization that the time has come to reinvent myself once again. Fully. Completely.
Interestingly, as this realization began to dawn over the past few months, I happened to stumble across the poem "No Leaders, Please" written by one of my favorite poets, Charles Bukowski. The poem has since become a source of inspiration for me. Having said that, I think the poem can be an inspiration to anyone regardless of whether they are contemplating changes or not. If nothing else, Bukowski's message serves as a simple yet forceful reminder of the innate power we all possess to create more sincere and meaningful lives as well as the imperative to do so while we still can.
"No Leaders Please" - by Charles Bukowski
taken from - Come On In!
invent yourself and then reinvent yourself,
don’t swim in the same slough.
invent yourself and then reinvent yourself
and
stay out of the clutches of mediocrity.
invent yourself and then reinvent yourself,
change your tone and shape so often that they can
never
categorize you.
reinvigorate yourself and
accept what is
but only on the terms that you have invented
and reinvented.
be self-taught.
and reinvent your life because you must;
it is your life and
its history
and the present
belong only to
you.
For me, change is not, and has never been about small adjustments or a minor improvements. I don't care much for baby steps or tweaking or tuning or fiddling. If I put my mind to change, I'm not interested in making a somewhat better me, I'm interested in creating an entirely different me altogether. This is the inflection point at which I find myself now. After considerable thought and rumination, I have come to the realization that the time has come to reinvent myself once again. Fully. Completely.
Interestingly, as this realization began to dawn over the past few months, I happened to stumble across the poem "No Leaders, Please" written by one of my favorite poets, Charles Bukowski. The poem has since become a source of inspiration for me. Having said that, I think the poem can be an inspiration to anyone regardless of whether they are contemplating changes or not. If nothing else, Bukowski's message serves as a simple yet forceful reminder of the innate power we all possess to create more sincere and meaningful lives as well as the imperative to do so while we still can.
"No Leaders Please" - by Charles Bukowski
taken from - Come On In!
invent yourself and then reinvent yourself,
don’t swim in the same slough.
invent yourself and then reinvent yourself
and
stay out of the clutches of mediocrity.
invent yourself and then reinvent yourself,
change your tone and shape so often that they can
never
categorize you.
reinvigorate yourself and
accept what is
but only on the terms that you have invented
and reinvented.
be self-taught.
and reinvent your life because you must;
it is your life and
its history
and the present
belong only to
you.
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