Pleasing

Pleasing
What comes up for you?
Pleasing for me meant
Getting good jobs, and keeping them
Running myself ragged trying to
Please anyone and everyone at any point
Even if they didn’t ask me to
Pleasing
Lots of rewards but
A kick in the ass when we
Realize that we just want to
Be loved and liked
Accepted, approved of
And that we have adopted
One method for getting
Some of that
But it doesn’t always work
And in fact, it sometimes
Creates the opposite effect
Rejection, which we are so scared of
Abandonment, which horrifies us
Aloneness, which part of us wants
And another part despises
All by pleasing
Pleasing you and you
Pleasing parents and teachers
Friends and family
Children and foes
Anyone who breathes
And even some who don’t
Why wouldn’t we keep that up?
What if we put ourselves first or
Somewhere in the line up for our
Pleasing?
Oh, well then, how selfish, self-centered
And distressing, especially for
Southern, good Christian girls!
Shame on you!
Instead we are taught
To take care of everybody else
(And anything else) before
Ever even thinking that perhaps
We have needs too, that need
To be addressed and focused on
But, we DO get some of our needs met or
Think we do by helping others
We think they like us, love us but
Once we turn off so much pleasing
We are left alone to fend
For ourselves because
WE HAVE CHANGED!
We also get to resent those
Whom we please even when they
Didn’t ask!
We do so much for them and
Never get back much from them
Oh, woe is me!
And, the world/people don’t
Much like us changing
If it weren’t for the pleasers
Of the world, who would the
Takers turn to and get positive results?
Well, I declare!
Who knew?
OK, time to slow it down
Focus within and don’t expect
The world/people to congratulate
You for changing
The good news is that it
Doesn’t really matter much
Anymore because you have
Learned to please yourself and
If people want to be around you
Great, and if they don’t
Their loss