"Just Be Yourself" Yeah, Sure Doc

People always say "just be yourself"
       Until you piss them off
Then they wage their shaming finger
   and yell and scold and scoff

That's not what we meant you a*****e
       Seems a typical retort
  You're a bad man Mr Ricochet
   We''ll see your a*s in court

 I have many selves to choose from
      Which one do you want
   Something socially acceptable 
      or a beast you can taunt

I'm the sweetest guy you'll ever meet
         an a*****e and a prick
 I'm a charming southern gentleman
          and I can be a dick

 I've been shaped by my experience
          A life at times full tilt
  A product of countless memories
        Plagued by nagging guilt

With so many repeating tape loops
        Screaming in my brain
     Perceptions and reflections
        of what I can contain

     If only I could control them all
         Life would be just fine
    But I don't have a reboot setting
         plugged into my mind

    Instead I got drugs and therapy
       How Ricochet gets fixed
      Pharmaceutical technology
      Results were very mixed

    So I popped the pills they gave me
       Holy s**t my a*s was cured!
 The fact I couldn't feel a f*****g thing
     was conveniently obscured

     So I refused to take their drugs
           I was non-compliant
     They said I was being difficult
         I said I was self reliant
 
   Back and forth my counselors went
       with meds I wouldn't take
    Prescribed by quack physicians
     Who made obvious mistakes

Hey doc I think you got me confused
       with some emo pansy
 You say you want to work with me
  and I'm the one that's crazy?

So when you hear "just be yourself"
        Take it with some salt
Cause they wanna f**k your head all up
       Then say it's all your fault

Reviews

[Pax]

"Just Be Yourself" Yeah, Sure Doc ~
here is what i think ~ i don't think you required a medication ~ i also think you already know yourself really well(that's writing all about ~ we write to understand our feelings and to be understood like in way or another) ~ i think a good psychologist are great listener ~ also good person don't push things that the person doesn't really want ~ so it's up to the patient's willingness to take the meds if he/she needed it badly ~ a good therapy(for me) is the willingness of the doctor to understand and listen to what really the patients needs and doesn't push something that's out of its boundaries ~ the things is meds just suppress the emotions or just temporarily stress reliever but that doesn't really cure any emotional distress or trauma - i think the key to it is what lies deep within, it starts with oneself willingness to accept, forgive, move on or how far you understand yourself~ so i think "just be yourself" is quite a long process of understanding :) ~ that's how i understand everything about this provoking poem. Great work my friend !

[Baby Ricochet]

I agree with you Mr Pax. Knowing yourself doesn't mean covering it up with Msds

[Pax]

i agree with you too :)

[Annabelle Lee]

"Just be yourself"

They're a bunch of goddamn hypocrites, because they're spending way too much time trying to dissect you to even understand they're own psyche, and in order to compete with each other over who's right, who's wrong, which med will work, and which one won't, chances are they're not being the "self" that they are outside of their little offices, when they aren't trying to crack into your skull. They're trying to be, 'concerned' 'professional' 'relatable' and possibly even 'kind' and while some of them may be, most are just worried about a paycheck and praying to god this crazed war vet doesn't blow them to pieces. I'm telling you, Ricochet, there's nothing wrong with you, and all the professors can shove it in their........ Nevermind

Thank's for sharing

[Baby Ricochet]

HA! That's awesome! Annabelle you are the best!

[Annabelle Lee]

THat's what they tell me :)

[KAOlmsted]

I love how honestly and simply you present all aspects of yourself in this piece, Mark...it shows a man truly aware of himself, and, quite frankly, that is the best anyone can hope for. Sounds like you've got all synapses firing on this one, Baby...the rhythm and flow is great and the rhymes are sublime ;-) Knocked this one out of the park.

[Baby Ricochet]

Thank you so much Kimmer. I'm flattered to have you as a friend and fan.

[KAOlmsted]

Always my pleasure. And the sentiment is mutual. xoxo

[Marie]

When they say "just be yourself,' they mean "just be the self we want you to be." And that generally works.

[Baby Ricochet]

Actually it does. Thank you Marie

[Salar Majak]

they had it coming, they said be yourself, but they didn't know that i was too confused to choose one of my personalities. see, this is the thing about personalities, attitudes, they are different in each occasion and you can't decide fully what's best for them, so they can go to hell with that fancy term. i hate it.
great poem!!

[Baby Ricochet]

That's for sure. Thanks for stopping by Aurora. It's always a pleasure to hear from you

[Salar Majak]

:-)

[Marie Anzalone]

I know what it is like to be the social pariah- hell, I spent most of my life as one. The square peg always forced into the round hole, denied my right to negative feelings of any sort. It is not in any way a sustainable situation. I lashed out in anger and rage for a long time. What broke me was having to turn in an ex-fiancee for child molestation, ten years ago, and I finally started facing the truth of 3 decades of repression.

It is a hard line to wlk.. the difference between my right to express myself, and another's right to not feel severely damamged. My asshat of an ex actually told me that the girls "liked it," sleeping with them was just his way of "expressing affection." My self-esteem was so in the toilet at the time that for a month or so I believed him- I was the one being unreasonable about his right to expression. Then I f*****g snapped out of it... and just plain snapped. I am lucky to not be in jail for murder right now.

The balance I had to learn to strike centered around authenticity, and was/is a daily battle. Most people who say, "just be yourself," glibly, have no idea what authenticity really looks like. It is not a nice-nice sugarcoated world. You know that- I think that is why the first stanza of my other piece resonated with you. Authenticity means you feel what you need to feel, and express what you need to express, in real time and with your own moral authority. There is a world of difference between walking in a way that does not hurt hurt other's egos, and carrying oneself in a way that truly does no lasting harm. It is a razor's edge. I like Parker Palmer's assessment of authenticity, he says, when you are authentic, you simply no longer stay in situations that do not serve you. You do not stay in unfulfilling relationships, you do not hold your tongue when yoiu have something to say, you do not stay at jobs that contradict your values, and do not harm others to make yourself feel better. All of that is harder than it sounds.

Be yourself? It takes a lot of freaking courage. More than most of them have.

[Baby Ricochet]

Wow! This is some story/ review. My version goes something like "you know you're being authentic when you start hocking people off without being a dick." Thank you for your input Marie. I always appreciate hearing from you.

[Marie Anzalone]

**salutes**

[Will]

Just be yourself, as long as it looks similar to the image of myself. Great message here, Richochet, and I loved it.

[Baby Ricochet]

Why thank you Will

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Ah, you have to love how society wants you to be yourself as long as you stay to their lines, well done, good read.

[Baby Ricochet]

Thank you Thomas. it's always a pleasure to hear from you.

[RachelReaper]

My dad wants to be a councilor *shudders*, did I ever mention how much I really dont get along with councilors?
You make a very valid point in this. Do you really want to tell the truth and be called crazy, or smile for the camera and pretend everything's okay?

[Baby Ricochet]

Some of them are alright. It's the psyche MD'S you gotta look out for.

[quinfinn]

believe me, i know this road...those docs get out that prescription pad and think you're supposed to get well while they experiment on you with this , that and the next drug. hey dude, that's why they call it a medical "practice" cause they aren't perfect. i love this write, man, it speaks loud and clear and does it with a lot of humor and wit. classic BR....

[Baby Ricochet]

Yeah, I know. I just got tired of them practicing on me. Don't get me wrong I've got all the respect in the world for MD's. It''s the psyche one's I got a beef with. Thank you quinfinn

[quinfinn]

those psyches are warped and overqualified.....anytime, BR