Wise words Mr K

'IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:


If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
 
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
 
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son! '


I stumbled upon this today for the first time in quite a number of years.  I think my last encounter may have been at school.  I know that when I read it today, it resonated far more than it did then.  This is probably down to experience.  You go through life choosing things, and learning skills.  I'd like to think I have some of these skills.

'If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue'

How many public figures could learn from that....  My crowds are of a somewhat smaller nature, and I pride myself that I may talk to them with honesty and yet engage them in my verbosity.  Take them along with me, to learn the things I know, and perhaps enrich their lives a little.

'If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;'

Confidence is both an asset and an albatross around your neck.  There are those who see you walk tall and follow you - for surely walking tall is the sign of someone who knows what they do.  Sometimes, they just follow because it is easier for them to do so.  But others doubt that your confidence is worthy, and suspect you have other motives.  I'm not sure what they hope to gain, but they do.  The English are particularly good at this - as a nature we are suspicious of success, believing anyone who builds their life is up to something.

I try so hard to impress - to inspire confidence in others.  But often, it is difficult to even convince yourself that you should be a source of inspiration.  You look at what you do, and see only (or mostly) the faults.  So how can you believe that others should follow you?  That is where your supporters come in.  It becomes a chain - they give you back that confidence and help you find the way that works.  They love you, and are there for you when you lose faith in yourself.

The 'man' who always trusts himself, and has confidence in himself when all around him doubt, is rare.  Some that think they do, have just not thought things through.  It's actually more fun to ride the wave, and work with others to achieve your goals.  Fighting through adversity is said to make people stronger, and that I truly believe.  They may get a little wiser, and a little more reticent along the way.... but that's not a bad thing.  I think I tread the middle ground.  Sometimes I ride the wave of confidence, other times I am stable.  It's something to aspire to though.

'If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;'

Hmm - I'm working on that one.  Dreams can be functional, a release of inward stresses, a pleasant distraction, an overture to where you wish to be.  At the intermission, or the third act?  Where will you be?  Will your final curtain be at a point where you can say 'hmm, yes, I achieved my dreams' or even 'I was lucky enough to experience some of them'.  Perhaps I need to work on my dreams some more.  Without allowing them into the realms of obsession.

                                         'If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim'

Writing this tome has cleansed me, got many things off my chest, and given me new perspective.  The thoughts are not my aim, the aim is to lead a better life, for me and my loved ones, and possibly for the world in general.  I don't really want all the Earth, but I do hope to be a better 'man.'