Lessons from Emily Charlton

 

Anyone who knows me knows I love a good movie.  Its not just the excitement of the action movies or the scare factor of the horror movies that I enjoy.  Sometimes it's those one liners, those little moments that hit you right in the feels.  You know what I mean?  But tonight I went to the cinema to watch the newly produced sequel to the 2006 sensation that was the Devil Wears Prada and of all the people that stood out for me it was Emily Blunt reprising her role as Emily Charlton.

Without giving away too many spoilers, at the end she realised she screwed up and in her interaction with another character someone made the the comment, "We all screw up sometimes.  Its ok."  That got me because we do.  We all screw up.

It made me think of all the professional and personal screw ups I've made over the years.  The bridges I've burned and the endless hours I spent kicking myself for being so stupid.  But we are hard on ourselves.  And we're hard on other people.  So I was inspired to write this poem. 


Through all the live long working day,

I try my best, I work hard, I pray, 

When life just doesn't go my way, 

I done screwed up.  That's not ok.  


Time passes and regrets mount up,

Work up the courage to just get up, 

Staring at my coffee cup, 

It's not OK, cos I done screwed it up.


Its not who left, kept thinking nigh,

The games we play, exhausted sigh,

I'm doing fine, but wonder why.  

You done screwed up.  Stopped thinking. Cry.


Come back, don't leave, actually go away,

I don't know what I need today

Put on the face, don't show or say

That you screwed up.  It'll be ok.


Three wishes as I rub the lamp?  

To younger me, be kinder champ, 

To older me, don't forget, revamp,

To me right now, up sticks, decamp.


This poem marks the first day when I take a piece of advice I was given not long ago.  I'm moving on.  I made mistakes in the past, some big mistakes, some small mistakes and none of those mistakes were passed by without endless hours of regret and pain and self punishment.   But I can move on knowing I'm not perfect.  I can move on knowing I screwed up and, despite learning lessons, I will likely screw up again.  Maybe, just maybe, the world would be kinder if we learned how to be not perfect together.

It took me 20 years and a sequel to learn this.  Thanks Miss Emily Charlton.

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