This text/poem is attributed to Charlie Chaplin but there is some discussion whether this is true or not.
I’m not sure what is correct but I feel that the poem itself is too important to bother much about the details. There are two versions. Version 1 is from the Sahaja Yoga:
As I began to love myself
I found that anguish and emotional suffering
are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth.
Today, I know, this is “AUTHENTICITY“.As I began to love myself
I understood how much it can offend somebody
as I try to force my desires on this person,
even though I knew the time was not right and the person was not ready for it,
and even though this person was me.
Today I call it “RESPECT“.As I began to love myself
I stopped craving for a different life,
and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow.
Today I call it “MATURITY“.As I began to love myself
I understood that at any circumstance,
I am in the right place at the right time, and
everything happens at the exactly right moment,
so I could be calm.
Today I call it “SELF-CONFIDENCE“.As I began to love myself
I quit stealing my own time, and
I stopped designing huge projects for the future.
Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness,
things I love to do and that make my heart cheer,
and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm.
Today I call it “SIMPLICITY“.As I began to love myself
I freed myself of anything that is no good for my health –
food, people, things, situations, and
everything the drew me down and away from myself.
At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism.
Today I know it is “LOVE OF ONESELF“.As I began to love myself
I quit trying to always be right,
and ever since I was wrong less of the time.
Today I discovered that is “MODESTY“.As I began to love myself
I refused to go on living in the past and
worry about the future.
Now, I only live for the moment,
where EVERYTHING is happening.
Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it “FULFILLMENT“.As I began to love myself
I recognized that my mind can disturb me and
it can make me sick.
But As I connected it to my heart,
my mind became a valuable ally.
Today I call this connection “WISDOM OF THE HEART“.We no longer need to fear arguments,
confrontations or any kind of problems with ourselves or others.
Even stars collide, and out of their crashing new worlds are born.
Today I know THAT IS “LIFE“!
There is also a YouTube version by Adrea Bezerra.
M.Peer Mohamed Sardhar posted a much longer and more complex version:
When I started loving myself” – A poem by Charlie Chaplin written on his 70th birthday on April 16, 1959:
When I started loving myself
I understood that I’m always and at any given opportunity
in the right place at the right time.
And I understood that all that happens is right –
from then on I could be calm.
Today I know: It’s called TRUST.When I started to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody
When I tried to force my desires on this person,
even though I knew the time is not right and the person was not ready for it,
and even though this person was me.
Today I know: It’s called LETTING GOWhen I started loving myself
I could recognize that emotional pain and grief
are just warnings for me to not live against my own truth.
Today I know: It’s called AUTHENTICALLY BEING.When I started loving myself
I stopped longing for another life
and could see that everything around me was a request to grow.
Today I know: It’s called MATURITY.When I started loving myself
I stopped depriving myself of my free time
and stopped sketching further magnificent projects for the future.
Today I only do what’s fun and joy for me,
what I love and what makes my heart laugh,
in my own way and in my tempo.
Today I know: it’s called HONESTY.When I started loving myself
I escaped from all what wasn’t healthy for me,
from dishes, people, things, situations
and from everything pulling me down and away from myself.
In the beginning I called it the “healthy egoism”,
but today I know: it’s called SELF-LOVE.When I started loving myself
I stopped wanting to be always right
thus I’ve been less wrong.
Today I’ve recognized: it’s called HUMBLENESS.When I started loving myself
I refused to live further in the past
and worry about my future.
Now I live only at this moment where EVERYTHING takes place,
like this I live every day and I call it CONSCIOUSNESS.When I started loving myself
I recognized, that my thinking
can make me miserable and sick.
When I requested for my heart forces,
my mind got an important partner.
Today I call this connection HEART WISDOM.We do not need to fear further discussions,
conflicts and problems with ourselves and others
since even stars sometimes bang on each other
and create new worlds.
Today I know: THIS IS LIFE!
Tagged: Poem
