painting by Ally Saunders.
King or Clown
“The most terrifying thing is to accept
oneself completely.”--C.G. Jung.
As a child, without language,
we soon discover the seeds of
our personality--then as we are
propelled along our educational
journey, we begin to find ourself
strongly attracted to certain things--
art, creative writing.
music, puzzles &
dance, games,
sports, movies,
mechanics, theater,
poetry, literature,
mathematics:
this attraction turns to
interest, & soon we start to
measure our skills, talents & dreams.
We fortunate folks,
it seemed to us, embraced
being extroverts, Type A’s,
& we found that we could
devour our studies like
ravenous carnivores--just as
we ran afoul of peer pressure,
candor & competition and were
able to excel in divers area, only
to then hear the accusations of
egocentric conceit, arrogance,
impatience & unreasonable anger,
just as we grow accustomed to our
parents, teachers & mentors always
measuring & rating our achievements,
pressuring us to focus on grades,
communication, writing skills,
physical prowess,
and beauty.
A quick stroll through my home provides
amble glimpses of my achievements--
things in frames like
college degrees,
certificates & awards,
posters from plays, films
& recitals I have been in--
photographs of me with
celebrities, in costume from
plays, & holding an open mic
at poetry readings/performances,
as well as photographs I’ve taken,
& a copy of my own page in IMDb.
My wife easily tires of my self adoration & my
heightened self-esteem. She is fond of reminding
me of the less attractive side of my personality,
and that living with me provides more than a
healthy challenge for any human being. I find
myself thanking her for keeping me on an even
keel, & for completing me.
Glenn Buttkus
Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub "Poetics"
9 comments:
Good to have someone complementing and balancing you Glenn ~ You are lucky ~
Interesting idea that living with someone "provides more than a
healthy challenge for any human being". There's nothing like a good challenge.
That makes me laugh Glenn. My wife sees the whole picture, I guess we're both kings and clowns
Thanks for sharing some of your accomplishments..I'm sure there are many more not mentioned and many more to come. So interesting to see where the image took you and I enjoyed the lightheartedness.
Oh indeed. We need that voice whispering of our less attractive sides.. just as those with lower self-esteem might need the other.
Your woman sounds like a wise lady. I think you found a perfect match.
Balance is good, Sir. But there's also something to be said for audacity. I wish I had more of it.
It's a match made in heaven as long as you encourage her to fly ;)
It has a funny side to it and so many things that really come to mind about growing up....very interesting!
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