“Nobody loves me, nobody cares,
Nobody picks me peaches and pears.
Nobody offers me candy and Cokes,
Nobody listens and laughs at me jokes.
Nobody helps when I get into a fight,
Nobody does all my homework at night.
Nobody misses me,
Nobody cries,
Nobody thinks I'm a wonderful guy.
So, if you ask me who's my best friend, in a whiz,
I'll stand up and tell you NOBODY is!
But yesterday night I got quite a scare
I woke up and Nobody just WASN'T there!
I called out and reached for Nobody's hand,
In the darkness where Nobody usually stands,
Then I poked through the house, in each cranny and nook,
But I found SOMEBODY each place that I looked.
I searched till I'm tired, and now with the dawn,
There's no doubt about it-
NOBODY'S GONE!!” ~Shel Silverstein
In order for our dreams to become reality we have to have a healthy level of trust in ourselves. More to the point we actually have to become the thing that we want. If my intention is clarity then I meditate on that word, I picture what clarity looks like, I invoke feelings of clarity, I show up for clarity...even if my current state is confusion. I sit with clarity until I can feel clarity within. We will eventually find what it is we are looking for if we trust that it is ours to have.
Shel Silverstein’s book Where the Sidewalk Ends was one of my most favorite books as a child. I read it front to back many times and this was one of my favorite poems. I’m reminded of this poem from time to time, it has always stayed with me and I’m not even sure why. But I was recently inspired to pull it out of the archives and dissect it. Interestingly it came at a time when TRUST, inparticular self-trust, was the main theme of my classes. This is my take on the poem and why I think it has had a place in my heart all these years…..
“Nobody love me, Nobody cares”. “Nobody” is somebody within this child that believes in him. “Nobody” is him. His inner being, his spirit, his soul, God. We all have this, this is who we are. We are of God. Human bodies housing a spirit and our spirit loves us, cares for us, laughs at our jokes, buys us candy and cokes. Our inner being (our truest self) is available to us when we trust that it is indeed who we are. We can manifest clarity even in the midst of confusion when we trust that we are a spark of the divine.
This sweet boy is sitting in total confidence of himself. “Nobody thinks I’m a wonderful guy!” He is owning it.
But because we are human we also have the small self voice and the noise of the external influences. One day someone tells us we aren’t all that or fear and self doubt creep in and we hear “Who do you think you are to have that dream? What do you have to say? How dare you shine like that?” And our trust starts to wane. “I woke up and Nobody just wasn’t there”.
The key, I believe, is to hold steady the vision of our dream. A simple reminder that I want clarity. A few conscious breaths to bring me back to the knowing that it is available if I stay grounded in the truth. Trust that the Universe is cheering me on from the sidelines, wants me to succeed and is never judging or condemning me. We are human. We are going to get tired, fatigue, fear and self-doubt will at some point sneakily try to creep in. But knowing, believing, trusting in our innermost self will allow us to see the magic and beauty all around. If I put myself in this trusting vibration then stop and look outside at a tree, a body of water, a single white floating cloud, or sit quietly and take ten breaths I can’t help but see and feel the magic all around. I didn’t create the beautiful world around me but I do believe the sun rises and sets in all it’s glory each and every day for us. The beauty is a part of who we are, we are not separate from it but completely connected.
The boy didn’t let fear creep in, he held on to the knowing that his inner being loves and cares for him so he looks around and can’t help but see the magic because it’s everywhere; ”I found somebody each place that I looked.”
Then the moment hits him.
“Nobody’s gone!”
He had it within all along. We all do. Freedom, the ability to love the sweet self we see in the mirror each day, clarity, peace, wisdom, power and the confidence to make our dreams a reality.