409. A Blissful Secret

Once read, a poem cannot be escaped. Through nothing other than innocent reading, its spirit becomes lodged in you. The only way out is not to read, but when the words are right in front of you, so inviting and provocative, can you really stop yourself?

You read because that is what you always do when you encounter words. It’s a habit stronger than almost any other you’ve formed throughout your life. You will read what you see and you will be changed by it. This is your fate, the inevitable outcome you cannot escape.

You will be changed by reading, but it isn’t the poem itself that will change you. No, your fate is more severe. You will create the change in yourself. By reading, you have allowed the poem to show you something you never before noticed. It’s this new discovery, which you cannot prevent yourself from making, that catalyzes the change.

But remember, you will do this to yourself. No one will force you to change, especially not the poem. A poem does nothing by force. It operates instead by seduction and its lure is its secret. You’re least able to resist this secret, for it is in some way, everything you’ve always wanted.

In truth, it’s more than you’ve ever wanted. It’s everything you need, both now and always. Of course, a poem on a page is not everything, but in the moment of reading it becomes everything. It becomes exactly what you need and because of this it grants you a special feeling, a feeling so powerful and intoxicating that it seems to surpass any other.

The incredible feeling that accompanies the discovery of the poem’s secret is also the force that inspires you to change. And you will not resist. For why would you resist bliss? You will surrender to this pleasure, fully and completely, with every cell of your animal body. And in doing so, you will realize that you are becoming more than you ever were before.