Ask Yourself...

Ask yourself “What do you want?”; and “What are you willing to give in return for the prize of your obsession…?”
Do not answer in haste…

What are your limits… the measure of your strivings…
How powerful is the force of your drive…
Can you separate your passions from your goals…
Can you prevent their submersion in the shallow pond of someone else’s desire?

Can you direct your days so that your dreams will be realized…
Can you defer your want of immediate gratification to the end of your ultimate fulfillment…?

And about the ghost of doubt…
Can you repair the breach of fear…
Are you able to revive yourself when discouragement attempts to suffocate you… to quench your desire…?
Can you muster the resolve to come again when you feel that you have spent your last shell…?

Can you maintain the definition of yourself when the praise or ruinous witicism of other voices attempt to redefine you in terms of their convenience…
Can you maintain your focus in the light of the redirecting glare of public advisement…?

And finally…
Can you be honest… brutally so if necessary… first with yourself… and then with all else about everything…?
Can you forgive yourself your immediate failings… and act with the force of your forwardness…
Can you join in the laughter when dissenting voices pour scorn and ridicule on the blaze of your primordial fire…?

Can you learn to love yourself like this…
And if you can… Will you…
And if you will… Then won’t you…