No Longer the Victim

I don't need to be a victim.

I don't want to confess my pain.

I don't need to share my heartaches -

I want my dignity back again!!

I will no longer place blame with others

For the things they "should not have" done -

I'm responsible for the present.

I will leave the past alone.

I can't blame my loving family,

Nor my friends, nor someone else,

For the problems in my life - 

I am responsible for myself!!

"Woe is me" is gone forever

From my mouth, where once was home

To a host of negativity,

And where self-pity was free to roam.

I cannot change my history,

Nor undo the wrongs done unto me.

But I can make my future brighter,

By being the best that I can be.

For life's too precious to waste it fretting

Over events of yesterday.

I will live for every moment

And judge my life for just today!!

© Cari Kissel (first written in 1994...edited in 2013)

Stop and Smell the Roses

Sometimes when people are perky & happy, & life never seems to get them down, it's hard to be around them. It's easy to wonder how it is that they always manage to have a smile on their face.