Self-Reflection | Robert Walser, 1924-1933

Because they didn’t want me to be young, I became young.
Because i should’ve been a sufferer, many pleasures flattered me.
Because they tried their best to put me in a bad mood,
I sought and found ways into moods more welcome than any I ever
could’ve wished for.
Since they impressed fear on me, courage cheered and laughed with
me.
They abandoned me, so I learned to forget myself,
which allowed me to bathe in my inspired soul.
When I lost much, I realized losses are winnings,
because no one can find something he didn’t first lose,
and to discover what’s lost is worth more than any safe possession.
Because they didn’t want to know me, I became self aware,
became my own understanding, friendly doctor.
Because I found enemies in my life, I attracted friends,
and friends dropped away, but enemies, too, stopped being hostile,
and the tree that bears the most beautiful fruits of luck is called
misfortune.
On life’s path, we lift all the peculiarities given to us
by our birth, our family home and our schools,
and only those who couldn’t help but strain themselves need to be
rescued.
No one who’s content with himself ever needed help,
unless he happened to be in an accident and needed to be carried to the
hospital.

Robert Walser, Self-Reflection, 1924-1933