Poems, memory, ego, attachment
Take a short poem that you like and memorize it.
Then before a mirror, learn to speak it aloud very dramatically-very, very dramatically.
Then, perform the poem for someone-very, very dramatically.
Ask yourself,What kinds of words would I use to describe my feelings during this process?
What other things can I do that I have never done before that gives me this same fulfillment?
Why is it that a simple task that almost anyone can perform gives me a feeling of accomplishment?
How did I “get” this value? Why do I think memorizing anything is an accomplishment of note?
How would I feel after performing the poem if someone then displayed a parrot that spoke the same poem even more dramatically than I had?
When I chose the poem, did I have some sort of payoff in mind? Did the poem define me in some way; was it a statement about a concept I hold dear or a feeling I have that I wanted to communicate?
What part of me likes to have a poem to recite? What is recitation to me?
Where is that poem now? How can I find it so effortlessly with a mere intent to do so? How much of this effortlessness do I “own?” Is this effortlessness the same quality I exhibit when I beat my heart or fill my lungs?
How often do I find myself mentally reciting the poem to myself?
When I work at building up a skill, does my ego get more attached to it as an accomplishment than, say, if I instantly “memorize” a joke someone told me and can repeat immediately afterwards?
How many poems could I memorize in the next year if I did nothing else?
Am I a poem?