Inspirational Poems
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
Chapter I
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost, I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter II
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter III
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it there.
I still fall in it's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter V
I walk down a different street.
by Portia Nelson
Behavior Labeling
If an adult is reinforced for behaving, we call it recognition
If a child is reinforced for behaving, we call it bribery
If an adult laughs, we call it socializing
If a child laughs, we call it misbehaving
If an adult writes in a book, we call it doodling
If a child writes in a book, we call it destroying property
If an adult sticks to something, we call it perseverance
If a child sticks to something, we call it stubbornness
If an adult seeks help, we call it consultation
If a child seeks help, we call it whining
If an adult is not paying attention, we call it preoccupation
If a child is not paying attention, we call it distractibility
If an adult tells his side of the story, we call it clarification
If a child tells his side of the story, we call it talking back
Children Learn What They Live
If children live with criticism,
They learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility,
They learn to fight.
If children live with fear,
They learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with ridicule,
They learn to be shy.
If children live with shame,
They learn to feel guilty.
If children live with tolerance,
They learn to be patient.
If children live with encouragement,
They learn confidence.
If children live with praise,
They learn to appreciate.
If children live with approval,
They learn to like themselves.
If children live with acceptance,
They learn to find love in the world.
Flowers Are Red
The little boy went to school; he got some crayons and began to draw.
He put colors all over the paper, for colors where what he saw.
And the teacher said, "What are you doing young man?"
"I'm coloring flowers", he said.
She said, "It's not the time for art young man, anyway flowers are red and leaves are green. There's a time for everything and a way it should be done. You've got to show concern for everyone else, for you're not the only one."
And she said, "Flowers are red young man, green leaves are green. There's no need to see flowers any other way than the way they've always been seen."
But the little boy said, "There are so many colors in the rainbow, so many colors in the morning sun, so many colors in a flower, and I see everyone."
The teacher said, "Your sassy. There's ways that things should be. You'll color flowers the way they are, so repeat after me, flowers are red and green leaves are green. There's no need to see flowers any other way than the way they've always been seen."
But the little boy said, "There are so many colors in the rainbow, so many colors in the morning sun, so many colors in a flower, and I see everyone."
The teacher put him in the corner. She said, "It's for your own good. You won't come out until you get it right and are responding like you should."
Finally he got lonely. Frightened thoughts filled his head. He went up to that teacher, and this is what he said.
And he said, "Flowers are red, green leaves are green. There's no need to see flowers any other way than the way they've always been seen."
by Harry Chapin
The Parent's Pledge
I will set a good example for my child.
I will show my children I love them every day through words and physical affection.
I will listen to my children and let them know I value what they say.
I will praise my child's accomplishments and efforts towards those accomplishments.
I will have realistic expectations for my children.
I will allow them to make their own mistakes and learn from those experiences.
I will avoid being too critical or focusing on my child's shortcomings.
I will encourage my child to meet new challenges and have new experiences.
I will respect my children as individuals even if I don't always agree with them.
I will enjoy my children and make time to share interests and appreciate one another.
I will love my children unconditionally.
I will let them know they are lovable, worthwhile and valuable human beings.
Please Hear What I'm Not Saying
Don't be fooled by me.
Don't be fooled by the face I wear
for I wear a mask,
a thousand masks,
masks that I'm afraid to take off,
and none of them is me.
Pretending is an art that's second nature with me,
but don't be fooled,
for God's sake don't be fooled.
I give you the impression that I'm secure,
that all is sunny and unruffled with me, within as well
as without,
that confidence is my name and coolness my game,
that the water's calm and I'm in command
and that I need no one,
but don't believe me.
My surface may seem smooth but my surface is my mask,
ever-varying and ever-concealing.
Beneath lies no complacence.
Beneath lies confusion, and fear, and aloneness.
But I hide this. I don't want anybody to know it.
I panic at the thought of my weakness exposed.
That's why I frantically create a mask to hide behind,
a nonchalant sophisticated facade,
to help me pretend,
to shield me from the glance that knows.
But such a glance is precisely my salvation, my only hope,
and I know it.
That is, if it's followed by acceptance,
if it's followed by love.
It's the only thing that can liberate me from myself,
from my own self-built prison walls,
from the barriers I so painstakingly erect.
It's the only thing that will assure me
of what I can't assure myself,
that I'm really worth something.
But I don't tell you this. I don't dare to, I'm afraid to.
I'm afraid your glance will not be followed by acceptance,
will not be followed by love.
I'm afraid you'll think less of me,
that you'll laugh, and your laugh would kill me.
I'm afraid that deep-down I'm nothing
and that you will see this and reject me.
So I play my game, my desperate pretending game,
with a facade of assurance without
and a trembling child within.
So begins the glittering but empty parade of masks,
and my life becomes a front.
I tell you everything that's really nothing,
and nothing of what's everything,
of what's crying within me.
So when I'm going through my routine
do not be fooled by what I'm saying.
Please listen carefully and try to hear what I'm not saying,
what I'd like to be able to say,
what for survival I need to say,
but what I can't say.
I don't like hiding.
I don't like playing superficial phony games.
I want to stop playing them.
I want to be genuine and spontaneous and me
but you've got to help me.
You've got to hold out your hand
even when that's the last thing I seem to want.
Only you can wipe away from my eyes
the blank stare of the breathing dead.
Only you can call me into aliveness.
Each time you're kind, and gentle, and encouraging,
each time you try to understand because you really care,
my heart begins to grow wings--
very small wings,
very feeble wings,
but wings!
With your power to touch me into feeling
you can breathe life into me.
I want you to know that.
I want you to know how important you are to me,
how you can be a creator--an honest-to-God creator--
of the person that is me
if you choose to.
You alone can break down the wall behind which I tremble,
you alone can remove my mask,
you alone can release me from my shadow-world of panic,
from my lonely prison,
if you choose to.
Please choose to.
Do not pass me by.
It will not be easy for you.
A long conviction of worthlessness builds strong walls.
The nearer you approach to me
the blinder I may strike back.
It's irrational, but despite what the books say about man
often I am irrational.
I fight against the very thing I cry out for.
But I am told that love is stronger than strong walls
and in this lies my hope.
Please try to beat down those walls
with firm hands but with gentle hands
for a child is very sensitive.
Who am I, you may wonder?
I am someone you know very well.
For I am every man you meet
and I am every woman you meet.
Charles C. Finn
A Prayer for Children
We pray for children who like to be tickled,
Who put their sticky fingers everywhere,
Who like to walk in puddles,
Who can never find their shoes.
And we pray for children who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
Who have never had a new pair of sneakers to run down the street in,
Who were born in places where we wouldn't be caught dead,
Who never go to the circus,
Who live in an X-rated world.
We pray for children who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
Who like to sleep with the dog,
Who insists on burying goldfish,
Who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money,
Who sing off key,
Who squeeze the toothpaste all over the sink.
And we pray for those who never get dessert,
Who have watched their parents die,
Who can't find any bread to steal,
Who don't have a bedroom to clean up,
Whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
Whose monsters are real.
We pray for children who hide their dirty clothes under the bed,
Who throw tantrums in the grocery store,
Who pick at their food,
Who like to tell ghost stories,
Who love visits from the tooth fairy,
Who don't like to be kissed in front of the school bus.
And we pray for those whose nightmares come in the daytime,
Who will eat anything,
Who aren't spoiled by anybody,
Who have never seen the dentist,
Who go bed hungry,
Who cry themselves to sleep,
Who live and move and have no being.
We pray for children who want to be carried,
We pray for children who must be carried,
We pray for children who will grab the hand of anyone kind enough to offer it.
Amen.
What House Do You Live In?
"I got two A's," the small boy cried.
His voice was filled with glee.
His father very bluntly asked,
"Why didn't you get three?"
"Mom. I've got the dishes done!"
The girl called from the door.
Her mother very calmly said,
"And did you sweep the floor?"
"I've mowed the grass," the tall boy said,
"And put the mower away!"
His father asked him, with a shrug.
"Did you clean off the clay?"
The children in the house next door
Seem happy and content.
The same things happened over there,
But this is how it went:
"I got two A's," the small boy cried,
His voice was filled with glee.
His father proudly said, "That's great!
I'm glad you live with me!"
"Mom I've got the dishes done!
The girl called from the door.
Her mother smiled and softly said.
"Each day I love you more."
"I've mowed the grass." the tall boy said.
"And put the mower away!"
His father answered with much joy.
"You've made my happy day!"
Children deserve a little praise
For tasks they're asked to do.
If they're to lead a happy life,
So much depends on you.
By Badger Leionnare
A Young Person's Bill Of Rights
I have a right to live rather than merely exist.
I have a right to personhood rather than being an object of possession.
I have a right to equality with every other human being regardless of age.
I have a right to be respected as a human being.
I have a right to be uniquely myself with my own identity.
I have a right to speak my thoughts and feelings, and to be heard.
I have a right to ask "why?" and to receive and answer.
I have a right to receive discipline without insults, yelling and put-downs.
I have a right to be encouraged to grow to maturity at my own pace.
I have a right to be free of physical harm at the hands of others.
I have a right to be loved for who I am.
I have a right to think for myself and, with guidance, to make my own decisions.
I have a right to be responsible for myself.
I have a right to feel joy, happiness, sorrow, bereavement, and pain.
I have a right to my achievements and a right to my mistakes.
I have a right to care and be cared for, to give and to receive.
I have a right to develop my own convictions, beliefs and standards.
I have a right to know and experience personal freedom.
I have a right to my own body, mind, and spirit.
I have a responsibility to recognize and accept the rights of others regarding their Bill Of Rights.
101 Ways to Praise A Child
Wow | Way To Go | Super | You're Special | Outstanding | Excellent | Great | Good | Neat | Well Done | Remarkable | I Knew You Could Do It | I'm Proud Of You | Fantastic | Super Star | Nice Work | Looking Good | You're On Top Of It | Beautiful | Now You're Flying | You're Catching On | Now You've Got It | You're Incredible | Bravo | You're Fantastic | Hurray For You | You're On Target | You're On Your Way | How Nice | How Smart | Good Job | That's Incredible | Hot Dog | Dynamic | You're Beautiful | You're Unique | Nothing Can Stop You Now | Good For You | I like You | You're A Winner | Remarkable Job | Beautiful Work | Spectacular | You're Spectacular | You're A Darling | You're Precious | Great Discovery | You've Discovered The Secret | You Figured It Out | Fantastic Job | Hip, Hip, Hurray | Bingo | Magnificent | Marvelous | Terrific | You're Important | Phenomenal | You're Sensational | Super Work | Creative Job | Super Job | Fantastic Job | Exceptional Performance | You're A Real Trooper | You Are Responsible | You Are Exciting | You Learned It Right | What An Imagination | What A Good Listener | You Are Fun | You're Growing Up | You Tried Hard | You Care | Beautiful Sharing | Outstanding Performance | You're A Good Friend | I Trust You | You're Important | You Mean Alot To Me | You Make Me Happy | You Belong | You've Got A Friend | You Make Me Laugh | You Brighten My Day | I Respect You | You Mean The World To Me | That's Correct | You're A Joy | You're A Treasure | You're Wonderful | You're Perfect | Awesome | A Plus Job | You're The Best | A Big Hug | A Big Kiss | I Love You!