Self-Parody Poem by Robert R. Railey

Self-Parody

One day as I sat writing in my journal the thought popped into my head that it was time for me to do a personal inventory
It wasn't so much as to find out who I was because I thought I already knew the answer to that question; but rather, my goal was to find out who I wasn't
Then during the instructions on how best to begin my mentor told me that I should start at the beginning of my life and then work my way up to the present
A suggestion like that sounded reasonable enough to me and especially since we have all heard that our characters were formed when we were very young
To what extinct, though, we're never quite sure, although there're times when we react to circumstances in as much the same way that we did when we were very young
But what happened next seemed quite remarkable to me for that's when my mentor told me that I had to stop blaming other people; and that's also when he said that I should take a hard look at my part in every situation
At first, it was a little disheartening for me not to be able to blame others for my failings; and it also made me think that the word parody might not be a good choice of words for this essay, and especially since most of my previous attempts at compiling a personal inventory seem to have been purposely distorted
But then once I'd completed the process, one thing became perfectly clear, I had to stop saying that I'd always been that way because in fact, I really hadn't
And ever since that one eye opening experience, I've been trying to accept responsibility for my own personal failures; and so nowadays just the act of asking for forgiveness has become an important part of my day
I was also told that I had to stop assassinating other people's characters, and that, my gossiping had to cease
It also was suggested that I should stop lying, cheating and stealing: and if I were to ever again to offend anyone then I should immediately atone for my sins; but then of course, I was also told that I should stop repeating those types of destructive behavior
At first, just the act of trying to follow those rules seemed to be almost impossible: for you see, I was still bothered by the fact that some people had done me harm and it seemed as if they didn't have to change
However, it was then that my mentor pointed out to me that the only way this inventory would ever work would be for me to pray for the people I resented; and that, I should do so because they too were sick