by

Perception VS Reality

If Life is a marathon,
Not a sprint,
How come then,
Everyone is going,
So, so fast
But I,
I’m already behind,
And while everyone else,
Is having a great day,
I toil away 

My legs,
Slabs beneath me,
Holding me up,
But barely,
My lungs,
Burning with every inhale,
About to burst,
But I cannot stop,
I have to keep going,
To get to the top,
I can’t ever,
Ever stop,
I want to pause
Catch my breath,
But that’s not possible,
Because the world won’t stop,
And the non-existing finish line…
Uncrossable

I see them,
In the distance,
So far,
Way ahead of me,
Doing better,
Crushing this war,
Me, however,
A nonstarter,
I struggle to keep up,
Everyone is running,
Sprinting, 
Me, however,
A slow trot, 
Kinda like,
A tortoise a lot,
In a world full of hares,
Speeding by,
We both mosey about

I turn my head,
I see the hares by me,
Wait!
I’m not so far behind?
I’m actually,
Doing kinda fine?
My eyes,
My mind,
They…
They deceive me?
Why?!
How can they not show me reality,
When it’s right in front of me

I turn, Timidly,
I ask, 
The hare next to me,
How its going,
To try and uncover,
The secret of her,
Great stride,
And to my surprise,
“I’M SO FAR BEHIND,”
She bursts,
Impossible.
My mind told me I’M the worst!
Turns out,
I’m not alone,
In my pain, and,
This hare,
Is not a hare,
Just a person,
And I,
I’m not a tortoise

So, I uncover,
Life isn’t a sprint,
Or a marathon,
I figure,
It’s a heckin’ triathlon,
Ongoing and never-ending
And I,
I’m not the only one,
Who struggles,
Because the hares aren’t hares,
And my eyes,
My eyes lie:
I’m doing just fine,
Jogging,
In my own time

5 thoughts on “Perception VS Reality”

  2. There is always that feeling of not quite being sure that you’re keeping up. Whether it be in school, or in financed, or just in life. I barely feel like an adult, and I look around at people my age and expect to see people who have their life together… nope. We aren’t actually behind, we’re just anxious. I wonder if there will be a day where I realize I have my life together. That doesn’t seem like it will happen for quite a while but who knows. Also I like you username.

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  3. I resonated with this on an ungodly level, the world makes us think that we should have conquered two cities and a small island by the time we’re 18 when in reality….we’re literally just people. Not everyone has the resources, not everyone has those aspirations, and not everyone is at that stage in their lives. Success isn’t one size fits all and it shouldn’t be pressured as such. Individual satisfaction is something we should learn to value more, stop comparing ourselves to the accomplishments of others because greatness is subjective, and in the grand scheme of things…if you’re happy….that’s all that matters.

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  4. I love how you present yourself as the tortoise and everyone else as the hares. I so often find myself comparing myself, assuming that I must be something different, something broken or somehow fundamentally so far from what I should be or what others are, that there’s no hope of me ever living life in their way. And I have to take that step back and look around and realize, I am not any better or any worse and neither is anyone else. Life isn’t really a race at all, unless we make it one, and I tell myself it’s okay to just want a leisurely walk.

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