My Mind And I

And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for
the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.,- Exodus 3:5

Exploring The Masks I Where To Hide Me From Me

Prozkoumat masky, kde m schovvm

By :- Basil Fletcher
Introduction

Many times, if not most times in our lives, we wear various masks in order to protect
ourselves firstly from ourselves and secondly from the world in which we live. At times,
the mask we wear is intended to hide us from experiences which we feel that we are
unable to deal with, experiences which have caused us deep pain, anger, humiliation and
shame. At other times we wear the very same mask to hide ourselves from others who we
feel might think know of our pain, suffering and humiliation and might think less of us.

Then there are times, in which, we wear masks to hide our weakness and enhance our
pretenses. Knowing or unknowingly these masks are worn not only to trick others into
believing that we are who we are not, not only to fool others into thinking that we have
skills, strengths and traits which we do not have but also to fool ourselves.

Thus on one hand, we wear a given set of masks in order to hide from self and others and
on the other hand we wear another set of masks to fool others and ourselves into
believing that we are who we are not.

In compiling this document on masks, I firstly would like to admit that I am a Jamaican
and not an African and hence I am not knowledgeable of the specific use and meaning of
the masks presented in this document within an African cultural setting, but rather
looking at those masks and their meanings to me an individual who is engaged in the
exploration of self; secondly I this document is based on my own personal life
experiences and seek to explore the masks which I wore and how I was able to put them
aside once and for all.

This document is written and compiled specifically to meet the needs of the graduates of
the Prague School of Economics and the graduates of the Brandies University; many of
whom to varying extents would have experienced difficult emotional moments in their
lives, moments which have detained their further growth and development and others
who like myself at some point in their lives, would have worn masks of pretense. It is
hoped that by sharing my experiences , those graduates in need might be able to better
deal with their challenges and move along with their lives in a positive direction.

This document apart from using masks sourced from the internet, will also use selected
passages or verses from the Bible and the lyrics of popular songs. Here, I would like to
that the owners of the copy rights to the intellectual property used, for allowing their
work to be so used.

End

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vod

Mnohokrt, ne-li vtinu asu v naich ivotech, nosme rzn masky, abychom
se nejprve chrnili ped sebou a za druhm ze svta, ve kterm ijeme. Obas
maska, kterou nosme, m za ns skrt zkuenosti, o kterch se domnvme, e
se nm neda eit, zkuenosti, kter ns zpsobily hlubokou bolest, hnvem,
poniovnm a hanbou. Jinak nosme stejnou masku, abychom se skrvali od
ostatnch, o kterch se domnvme, e by mohli vdt o na bolest, utrpen a
ponen, a mohli by nm mn myslet.

Pak jsou chvle, ve kterch nosme masky, abychom skryli nai slabost a
vylepili nae zliby. Vdom nebo nevdom, e se tyto masky nos nejen proto,
aby ostatn vili, e jsme to, m nejsme, nejen proto, abychom si uvili, e
mme dovednosti, sly a rysy, kter nemme, ale tak abychom si sami blznili.

Na jedn stran nosme danou sadu masek, abychom se skryli od sebe a

ostatnch, a na druh stran nosme dal sadu masek, abychom oklamali ostatn
a sebevdom, e jsme to, m nejsme.

Pi sestavovn tohoto dokumentu na maskch bych nejprve chtla pipustit, e

jsem jamajsk a ne africk, a proto nejsem obeznmen s konkrtnm pouitm a
vznamem masky prezentovan v tomto dokumentu v rmci africkho kulturnho
prosted, Na tch maskch a jejich vznamu pro m jednotlivec, kter se zabv
zkoumnm sebe; Za druh, tento dokument je zaloen na mch osobnch
ivotnch zkuenostech a snam se prozkoumat masky, kter jsem nosil a jak
jsem je mohl jednou a navdy odloit.

Tento dokument je napsn a sestaven speciln pro poteby absolvent Vysok

koly ekonomick v Praze a absolvent univerzity Brandies; Z nich mnoz v
rznm rozsahu by zaili tk emocionln momenty ve svch ivotech, chvle,
kter zadrely svj dal rst a rozvoj a jin, kte se v uritm okamiku svho
ivota jako oni lbili, mli opotebovan masky. Doufm, e sdlenm svch
zkuenost budou tito absolventi v nouzi schopni lpe eit sv vzvy a posunout
spolu s jejich ivoty pozitivnm smrem.

Tento dokument krom pouit masky pochzejc z internetu bude tak pouvat
vybran pase nebo vere z Bible a texty populrnch psn. Zde bych chtl, aby
majitel kopi prv na duevn vlastnictv pouvali, aby umonili jejich prci.

Konec

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Sad Songs

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Sad Songs (say So Much), Lyrics
By Elton John

Guess there are times when we all need to share a little pain
And ironing out the rough spots
Is the hardest part when memories remain
And it's times like these when we all need to hear the radio
'Cause from the lips of some old singer
We can share the troubles we already know
Turn 'em on, turn 'em on
Turn on those sad songs
When all hope is gone
Why don't you tune in and turn them on
They reach into your room, oh oh oh
Just feel their gentle touch (gentle touch)
When all hope is gone
Sad songs say so much
If someone else is suffering enough oh to write it down
When every single word makes sense
Then it's easier to have those songs around
The kick inside is in the line that finally gets to you
And it feels so good to hurt so bad
And suffer just enough to sing the blues
So turn 'em on, turn 'em on
Turn on those sad songs
When all hope is gone
Why don't you tune in and turn them on
They reach into your room, oh oh oh
Just feel their gentle touch (gentle touch)
When all hope is gone
You know sad songs say so much
Sad songs, they say
Sad songs, they say
Sad songs, they say
Sad songs, they say so much
So, turn 'em on, (turn 'em on), turn 'em on, (turn 'em on)
Turn on those sad songs
When all hope is gone
Why don't you tune in and turn them on
They reach into your room, oh oh oh
Just feel their gentle touch (gentle touch)
When all hope is gone
You know sad songs say so much
When all hope is gone
You know sad songs say so much

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When ever little bit of hope is gone
Sad songs say so much
When ever little bit of hope is gone
Sad songs say so much
When all hope is gone
Sad songs say

There Is No Experience That Is More Painful & Saddening Than Betrayal

As an individual, I have experienced being knocked down by a car, falling from the back
of a van with folding chairs falling after me, I have experienced many physically
traumatic moments. I have had to live with the death of my youngest brother, the death of
my mother and my grandmother. However, none of those experiences were to me as
painful, as humiliating and as saddening than having been betrayed by the mother of your
only child and a person who you have known since childhood. As if that was not enough
pain, I had to deal with the betrayal by friends and the mocking by people who were and
are strangers to me.

While it is not possible to fully describe how I felt at the time, I can recall very clearly
that those were the saddest days of my life, the most embarrassing, humiliating and also
the angry days of my life. As a person who grew up in a close knitted household, where
betrayal of that kind was then outside of the experiences of the members of my
immediate household, and having no mother or grand mother with whom I could have
spoken with, perhaps the first thoughts which came to my mind, was to get a gun and
enter the place of work of the mother of my daughter and empty that gun in that building.
The fact that I have a daughter, who I wanted to have both of her parents, prevented me
from trying to take any such action.

Sleeping was not easy, nor was going on the road, because in my mind everybody knew
that I was jilted, even sitting with friends was very uncomfortable. Perhaps even worse,
the experience brought back very dark memories some mine and others somehow
acquired into my mind causing various nightmares.

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Perhaps my first attempt to constructively deal with the emotions which I was feeling was
to intellectualize the problem and try to work it out. That approach did not work. To try
to come to grips with my anger, I attended a Christian Church and even got baptized,
however, my experience with the Church was not totally positive, although some degree
of mental relief I did get, and new friends I was able to make.

My break through in dealing with the emotions which I was experiencing came, when I
asked myself:- Which person have I ever made? Which person did I buy? and
Which person do I own? In working through those questions, I was able to see where I
was wrong. The pain, humiliation and suffering which I experienced came about as a
result of my trying to exercise ownership claims over another adult human being, and
questioning her right as an adult to make choices and take actions in keeping with her
interests. The fact that she was the mother of my daughter and that we lived together
would have given rise to a particular set of expectations but not ownership claims. In
fact, in reading the Book of Genesis in the Bible, I did not see where Eve was given to
Adam as property nor did I see where Adam was given to Eve as property, although
Adam did tell God that it was he God who gave Eve to him Adam, however property
relations as existed between master and slave did not exist and thus Adams rights to
control the actions of Eve were limited.

Having resolved the basic issue in the relationship which I had with the mother of my
daughter, I had the task of coming to terms with myself. One of the other causes for the
double depression which I had experienced was the crisis which I was undergoing with
Essential Tremor. On one hand I was using Beta Blockers which to some extent damped
the tremors which I was experiencing, also could cause a person to become depressed.
Essential Tremor was also very seriously undermining my self confidence and created in
my mind, great insecurity about the future. It was difficult to retain confidence in myself,
knowing that I could not carry a cup of tea, when I knew that I could not help someone to
connect the hooks on a necklace if I was asked to and when I was having difficulties
using utensils if I was eating in a public place.

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Essential Tremor caused me to question in a very serious way my ability to deal with the
future. At the time of the crisis I was about 45 years of age, what would happen when I
become 55 years of age? Would I be able to feed myself? Would I be able to take care of
myself? While watching a Harvard University video lecture on Positive Psychology on
You Tube yesterday the 15th. June 2017, I saw that chalk board was still in use, in
Jamaica even at the high school level, there was at the time a movement to replace chalk
boards with white boards, on which one writes using felt markers. I was able thanks to
friction to write on chalk boards, writing on white boards with their shine and smooth
surfaces gave me real problems. How would I earn a living in the future?

Essential Tremor is best managed in a low stress and supportive environment, this type of
environment I did not have at home, my tremors were regarded by the mother of my
daughter as something funny or as something to be looked down at. Essential Tremor
caused me to question the wisdom of my parents to have children; in fact it caused me to
see both my mother and father as reckless gamblers.
.
In order to come to terms with Essential Tremor, I had to ask about my own family and
how they in the past dealt with this issue. From my father, I learnt of a relative who was a
medical doctor who was of advanced age who was still able to work despite being unable
to write prescriptions, a challenge which he got around by asking the nurse on duty to
write the prescriptions which he used a stamp to put on his signature. I also learnt from
my father of another relative in the country who would drink some rum in the mornings
before going to work, the rum helped him to cope with the adverse effects of Essential
Tremor.

I had to learn with the sources of anxiety in life in order to manage my Essential Tremor;
the fact that the old Doctor Fletcher was still able to practice medicine in spite of
suffering from very visible tremors and the fact that with a drink of rum I could dampen
the tremors, my fears of being able work later in life were removed. What was important,
was to accept the fact that with Essential Tremor I was no Mr. Average and therefore
should not compare myself with Mr. Average. Mr. Average can walk carrying a cup of

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hot tea in a saucer, I could not, Mr. Average could string a needle with great ease, for me
the stringing of a needle could present challenges. I however could make myself a cup of
tea even if I do not go carrying it in a saucer and drink it from a mug instead; I could
have problems stringing a needle, but if I relaxed and breathe calmly I thread it just the
same. Mr. Average was faster than I am in doing many things, however I was and I am
able to do the same things even if it took me more time, except for writing on the new
white boards. Having remove this source of insecurity and depression from my life, I
gave myself the task to show my daughter by doing, that a person can still lead an
independent life even if he or she has Essential Tremor.

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 The Mask Of Acquired Helplessness

Love Yourself - Mr Vegas

Mi say yuh cah love nubody weh nuh love themselves

Yuh cah find true love if yuh a run down wealth
Say yuh cah love nubody weh nuh love themselves
Cause some nuh want love dem want psychological help
Yuh cah love nubody weh nuh love themselves
yuh cah find true love if yuh a run down wealth
Yuh cah love nuhbody weh nuh love themselves
Cause dem deh love is like butter against sun it a melt

[Chorus:]
So I got to love me
Love me
Love me
I can't love you if I don't
Lo Lo Lo Lo Lo Lo love myself
Lo Lo Lo Lo Lo Lo Love

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 Say yuh got to love yourself
Respect yourself
Love yourself
You can't love me if you don't
Lo Lo Lo Lo Lo Lo Love yourself
Lo Lo Lo Lo Lo Lo Love

A tell yuh say mi comfortable inna mi own a skin

Look how mi black and shine and mi teeth dem a grin
Nuh matter if yuh fat, mi say nuh matter if yuh slim
Learn fi love yuhself mi say that a the first thing
Some look pon dem self and dem don't love a thing
Cause insecurities a kill dem from within
Yuh can feel love if yuh nuh have nuh feeling
Can say yuh love me and nuh know the meaning

[Chorus x2:]
Say yuh got to love yourself
Respect yourself
Love yourself
You can't love me if you don't
Lo Lo Lo Lo Lo Lo Love yourself
Lo Lo Lo Lo Lo Lo Love

What the world needs now

is love sweet love
What the world needs now
is love
What the world needs now
is love sweet love
What the world needs now
is love

[Repeat 1st Verse and Chorus]

Helplessness is very much like a beautiful but vain young lady, whose hands softer than
butter, prevents her from doing work, in particular work which requires real effort least
her soft and delicate hands become scared and marked. Being made of butter, she cannot
go out in the sun or perform strenuous work least she melts away.

Depression triggered by betrayal and health problems can cause a person to feel helpless,
to feel as if he or she has no control over his or her future. One is faced with on one hand
facing himself and the world, and would prefer to hide away from everything and on the
other hand, the medical health crisis leads ones to believe that his or her world is coming
to an end. I also had to deal with both of these sets of feelings and emotions.

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In addressing these two challenges, I asked myself the following questions:-

1. Can I afford to be depressed?

2. Who am I?
3. Do I love myself?
4. What are the expectations that I have of me?
5. What expectations do my daughter has of me?
6. What expectations do Ellen Manaker and those friends who are dear to me, have
of me?

On examining my resources I came to the conclusion that I was at the far end of the
wealth scale, I had nothing, I am not a Michael Jackson, a Whitney Huston or any such
person, I was and I am a pauper. Should I fall, I fall by myself and I do not have crowds
of people running to help me to my feet and mental health professionals to guide my
recovery. Should I fall, I have to pick up myself by myself and I have to be my own
mental health specialist. In very simple terms:- I cannot afford depression!

Having concluded that I cannot afford depression, I began to examine both maternal and
paternal family histories, to gain and understanding of the type of problems and
challenges which they had to deal with. It was as a result of this series of reflections, that
I was able to put my problems in context as far as the level of challenges and difficulties
are concerned. It was as a result of this historic study of my own roots, that I came to
better understand, that when placed within the context of family history, my difficulties
and challenges are but mosquito bites, annoying but not life-ending or life endangering.
My fore parents had to confront and overcome problems far greater than anything that I
had encountered during my years of crisis. If they stood and fought their way through
their challenges and difficulties, no less was and is expected from me. If I am their true
grandchild, then I owed it firstly to myself and to them to stand up and overcome in an
acceptable manner any and all challenges which I faced.

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The question:- Do I love myself, is and was a real question with real life implications. If I
love myself will I take actions which could harm me? Do I take actions which reduce my
own ability to move forward with value to myself and those who I care for? If I love
myself do I take actions which will hurt me? The answers to these questions, led me not
only to look back at the bank of skills and competencies which I have and my willingness
to use them. In other words, while society and the state for its own purposes may decide
to put obstacles in my way, it was my duty identify and to remove any self limiting
obstacle which I had might have placed in my own way.

If pride was an issue, I took steps to ensure that I do not cultivate the sort of pride which
could lead me to look down on the work done by any member of society, thus at times I
pull the garbage bins at my daughters home where I stay to the garbage truck myself and
at other times dump things in the truck, so that if needs be and that was the opportunity
for work open to me, I could perform it. If honesty was an issue, I ensured and ensure
that I am brutally honest with myself and take a clinical approach to the world in which I
live.

If I do not intend to be truthful then it is best to keep my mouth closed, however if I

should open my mouth, from it the truth about myself and the world in which I live, will
depart from my mouth. This might appear to some to be very unkind, however having
once saw an old lady dressed in red, throw herself to the ground to be helped up by some
Rastafarians, even if I was to see an old lady walking or slipping in front of a bus, I will
stand still and watch, for the simple reason that I do not know if she is playing a game
aimed at evoking particular emotional responses. In other words I approach myself and
the world in the same way as a scientist approaches his work or a doctor mans a ward in a
hospital. My experience in dealing with depression had been that a failure to abide by the
truth and a failure to accept the truth deepens depression and complicates existing
problems. A person who cannot accept has a problem accepting him or herself and the
world in which he or she lives. A person who refuses to accept him or herself and the
world in which he or she lives, has a problem loving him or herself and cannot love the
world in which he lives. In nature, there are pleasant days and there are stormy days, in

13
nature there are fruit trees and plants bearing food and there are choking weeds; if one
should claim to love roses one is also claiming to love a plant with sharp thorns. I love
cacti, they bloom beautiful flowers, some bear fruits, all are strong and have a spirit of
independence, patience and endurance however they all have sharp thorns.

I had also not only to come to terms with the expectations which I had for myself but also
the expectations my daughter, Ellen Manaker and others who I hold dear had of me,
expressed or unexpressed. It was clear in my mind, that neither my daughter or others
close to me expected me to be wallowing in self pity and uselessness; thus even though I
might have slept on the sidewalk of the Old Harbour Road or on the floors of the
University of The West Indies, because of the absence of acceptable choices, I
contributed to the Jamaican society as a professional, walked with my family members as
a brother, cousin and uncle. In short, I refused to be converted into a social parasite even
if and where my work was stolen or used without according recognition to the author of
the work.

When my daughter walks on the campus of the university where she studies, she does so
knowing that her fathers work in his field has been of no less quality or quantity than
those who lecture on that or any Jamaican university campus. Those who holds me dear
have recognized, that while I have had to deal with many embarrassing situations and in
many instances having to depend on the kindness of friends, it is not as a result of a
refusal to work, it is not as a result of self pity or the desire to be helpless but rather as a
direct result of the type of obstacles placed in my way and the breaching of my rights by
the Jamaican state. My relationship with those who contribute in a positive way to the
Jamaican society, regardless of his or her social back ground or class, remains one of a
relationship between equals. This could not occur, if I did not love myself, value my
skills and talents and had / have high expectations of myself; it is on this basis that I have
been able to meet the expectations which my daughter and others close to me have and
had of me.

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To love myself means seeking to deal with others as I would have wanted to them to deal
with me, it means wishing for others no more and no less than I wish for myself. As I
interact with society I am interacting with myself. Without society I could not have been
and without me, the sections of society with which I interact would not have been the
same.

While staying in my maternal grandparents village in Northern Manchester, Jamaica,

W.I., I noticed that the concrete rainwater catchment tanks, from which we took water,
were made in the period between 1930 and 1945. These tanks were made by individuals
long dead, many of them died before I was born and yet I was there catching water from
the tanks they made.

When I walked down the road from the village of Hibernia where I was staying to the
library in Mile Gully, I walked a road built over a century ago, by individuals who I do
not know, great grand uncles and grand aunts. On looking back at the history of the
village in the early days after emancipation, in which my great grandmother and grand
father along with my great grand uncle Granville, each day had to ensure, that there was
enough work for the villagers to do so that each household could have what to eat, they
had to ensure that each family had somewhere to plant if only a quarter acre of yams and
or sweet potato.

Yet, it could not be said, that all in the village though well of those who made the tanks
from which their grandchildren catch water today. It could not be said that all the
villagers thought well of the builders of the road which they used when it was completed
and their great grandchildren today still travel on. Nor could it be said that all the
villagers wished my great grandparents well. In spite of what given individuals might
have felt and their attitudes to those did their best to make life easier for all, they did what
were in their view the best for all.

Equally so, I in my dealing with society, in spite of the acts of sabotage done against my
work, in spite of actions taken to cause me harm, even when and where traps and

15
confusions and obstacles have been placed along my path, I look back at the work of my
recent fore parents and the challenges they faced,( in fact even today, rumor persist that
one of my grand uncles shot and killed an old woman who was catching water at a cow
pond on his property, yet this is the same grand uncle who allowed at least two families
to live on his property and created work for families in the entire village) and do what my
hands give me to do. The attitude of my great grand parents was that if one should follow
the words and actions of many who you are seek to help, you would march them through
the brick yard into the fire place where bricks are fired; do what you have to do and let
them be.

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 Enslavement By Property Ties

Psalm 121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep..

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Property , from a Marxist perspective describe the relationship between people over
things. Whether we like it yes or no, society has the ability to restructure an individual
relationship with any object, even if that object was in the individuals family for
generations or if it was acquired through the hard work of the given individual. The
history of the Soviet Union, Central Europe , Cuba, China and many other countries
shows that the state and society are willing to use the power at their disposal to influence
the relationship between individuals and things in keeping with the political objectives of
the state.

Within capitalist societies similar processes do occur either by Forced Acquisition by

the state, with or without compensation, through Adverse Possession and by outright
banditry.

A persons relationship with property provides a sense of security and a sense of

confidence in the future. In many instances, in which an individual is alienated from his
or her property, depression sets in. I have had rich experience in having to deal with the
willful destruction of property which I own, a laptop given to me by a nephew was
damaged beyond repairs at an cost acceptable to me and the cell phone which I use daily
has been rendered non-functional; a car which I had was willfully damaged and hit
several times; to mention but a few instances. These actions in theory are supposed to
cause a sense of helplessness (powerlessness) and depression.

The approach which I take, to all forms of property, be it hypothetical property or

commodity, is one which sees them as forms of loans, even if I did buy it with my own
money, earned through my own labour. Why take this approach? In the first instance,
my first and primary task is to protect myself and my mental health; if my relationship
with a given item is going to cause me mental and or physical harm or is of such that it
allows itself to be used by others to cause the same then my relationship with that
property can not be of a higher quality than my relationship with a rented car. I would not
be entering any angry exchanges with any individual driver who as a result of willful
action or carelessness should it a car which I rented and was driving. All I do is, hand
over the keys and the papers to the owner of the car and allow him to deal with the
problem.

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Secondly, having lived in the Czech Republic during both the periods of socialism and
capitalism, one learns that it can be futile in trying to take on the state during its exercise
of state power, whether its actions were legal or illegal. A Czech during the period of
socialism, did not keep the bulk his or her savings in the state own savings bank system,
from which monies can either be confiscated or made to disappear. Even when savings
were kept at home, the state could at whim devalue the currency thus wiping out an
individuals savings; to protect oneself from this possibility the Czech household
converted its excess liquidity to foreign exchange. In Jamaica I have seen individuals
savings disappear because of financial crisis in the banking system, I have had a friend
who drove to the airport and got on a plane leaving his new car and his home because the
bank came and claimed all he had; I have had another friend who took his van to get a
good drive , because the nursed van was being repossessed by a bank for an unpaid
loan.

Many ordinary home and property owners had to flee the City of Kingston, leaving
behind the properties they own there to squatters and ruin. Should those hundreds if not

19
thousands of individuals were forced into a state of feeling helpless and powerless by the
state rather than giving thanks that they left with their lives and with the abilities to restart
their lives, they would have lived under a cloud of depression encompassing them and
their children.

Genesis 47, 3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, What is your occupation? Your
servants are shepherds, they replied to Pharaoh, just as our fathers were.

The Hassidic Jews store their wealth in silver trays, golden wares and crystals in the
event that they have to flee oppression; the Sephardim stores wealth in the form of
education and skills, in the event that he and his family have to flee leaving all they had
behind.

I have taken the approach of developing new skills and reviewing old skills, so that where
ever I go, as long as I am permitted to, I will be able to not only survive but repurchase
whatever was taken from me in the past.

Labour For Learning

Labour for learning before you get old,

For learning is better than silver and gold,
Silver and gold can vanish away,
But a good education will never decay.

I learn this and that below in primary school and live my life in keeping with those
words.

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 The Heights By Great Men Reached

The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they,
while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/henrywadsw129800.html

Whitney Huston

"Greatest Love Of All"

I believe the children are our future

Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be

Everybody's searching for a hero

People need someone to look up to
I never found anyone who fulfilled my needs
A lonely place to be
And so I learned to depend on me

[Chorus:]
I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I'll live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

I believe the children are our future

Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier

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Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be

[Chorus]

And if, by chance, that special place

That you've been dreaming of
Leads you to a lonely place
Find your strength in love

Love Yourself

End

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