-between The Mirror And The Crowd- Poem by James Haedle

A poem on self-awareness, human nature, perspective and the illusion of difference.
I once stood before a mirror,
And saw a universe within.
A mind that questioned its own making,
A soul that studied every sin.
I spoke of things beyond definition,
Of awareness I could barely explain.
Of recognising hidden motivations,
And learning to govern joy and pain.
I saw the world through distant windows,
Through kingdoms, shadows, myths and men.
I thought I understood the wilderness,
Because I had walked within my head.
I knew what stirred my indignation,
What made my restless spirit burn.
I knew the art of self-direction,
And how much there was left to learn.
But somewhere between thought and wisdom,
Another picture came to be.
A thousand faces, countless stories,
A crowd that looked remarkably like me.
There stood the saint beside the sinner,
The fool, the scholar, king and clown.
The hero praised for his convictions,
The villain history had written down.
And suddenly the mirror shifted;
My grand conclusions seemed so small.
For what is consciousness but a spectrum,
And who among us knows it all?
Perhaps we're products of our making,
Of circumstance, encounter, place.
Some inherit crowns, some carry burdens,
Yet none can fully choose their starting space.
I could have mistaken strength for greatness,
Or called my difference something rare.
But what is wisdom without humility,
And what is sight without a willingness to care?
I do not claim the higher mountain,
Nor curse the valleys others know.
I only seek to understand the forces
That shape the seeds in which we grow.
For knowing why a man is broken
Does not excuse the harm he brings.
And understanding someone's nature
Does not mean surrendering to their sins.
I have learned that self-awareness
Is not a throne upon which to sit.
It is a lamp held to one's conscience,
A light that shows where shadows sit.
So let the first image speak of searching,
Of finding strength in knowing who you are.
Let the second remind the seeker
That every soul has travelled far.
One speaks of mastering the self,
The other questions what makes us apart.
One looks inward to discover power,
The other looks outward to discover the heart.
And perhaps that is the contradiction
That makes the human story whole:
To know yourself without worshipping yourself,
And understand the world without losing your soul.
For I am neither above nor beneath you,
Neither the answer nor the mystery.
I am one more brush upon the canvas,
Still discovering what it means to be.
And if there is a lesson worth keeping,
As the years unfold their history:
The first victory is knowing yourself.
The greater wisdom is knowing that you are not the only one.

Excerpt from D'PSy— Between the Mirror and the Crowd

-By JPHaedle