Lying Optimism

Half our misery comes from our lying optimism about ourselves. ~ Bill Pittman, Dick B., Courage To Change (p. 61).

As a child I pretended to be a princess,
part of Queen Elizabeth's children,
the adopted one. Other times I could fly,
or make a home under the sea
made and furnished with turtle shells.
I still make up stories, play the hero,
save the world or at least a major chunk.
But inside I know – just don't want you to —
how foolish, how pretentious, how frivolous it is...
And, when I give up the pretense,
I know that if I admit I'm powerless,
that I can't control, cannot manage,
if I surrender then suddenly it feels
like I can fly...