The Other Side of the Story

What often happens in therapy is that people are able, through exploration, to see the other side of the story. Sometimes we are just too invested in only one side and it becomes clouded by that judgment. I came across a poem that is a wonderful example of this phenomenon. Written by Abdullah Shoiab, it is entitled Pretty Ugly:

Pretty Ugly

I’m very ugly

So don’t try to convince me that

I am a very beautiful person

Because at the end of the day

I hate myself in every single way

And I’m not going to lie to myself by saying

There is beauty inside of me that matters

So rest assured I will remind myself

That I am a worthless, terrible person

And nothing you say will make me believe

I still deserve love

Because no matter what

I am not good enough to be loved

And I am in no position to believe that

Beauty does exist within me

Because whenever I look in the mirror I always think

Am I as ugly as people say?

Now read the poem from the bottom line up:

Am I as ugly as people say?

Because whenever I look in the mirror I always think

Beauty does exist within me

And I am in no position to believe that

I am not good enough to be loved

Because no matter what

I still deserve love

And nothing you say will make me believe

That I am a worthless, terrible person

So rest assured I will remind myself

There is beauty inside of me that matters

And I’m not going to lie to myself by saying

I hate myself in every single way

Because at the end of the day

I am a very beautiful person

So don’t try to convince me that

I’m very ugly

The way we look at things does make a difference. And very often, the other side of the story is, in fact, hidden in plain sight.

Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@tommaomaoer