Then Laugh

Build for yourself a strong box,
Fashion each part with care;
When it’s strong as your hand can make it,
Put all your troubles there,
Hide there all thought of your failures,
And each bitter cup that you quaff;
Lock all your heartaches within it,
Then sit on the lid and laugh.

Tell no one else its contents,
Never its secrets share;
When you’ve dropped in your care and worry
Keep them forever there;
Hide them from sight so completely
That the world will never dream half;
Fasten the strong box securely-Then sit on the lid and laugh.

-Bertha Adams Backus
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Have you ever wondered why you function abnormally only to realize that there is a logical explanation to your actions? Well…this poem opened my eyes to my own well of insecurities that had been fastened away from everyone else, including myself. It was all these “hidden things” that kept me from being me. Once you lock out the bad you inevitably begin to lock out the good as well. And when you try to pry the lid off your strong box to let the good flow freely to and from you… BAM! An explosion occurs and confusion follows.
It’s much easier to embrace the negative than to shut yourself away from it.