Today is a good day for this. I saw this poem a couple of weeks ago on the Miss Magnolia blog {which is an awesome blog created by a wonderful sorority sister of mine} and I have been dying to share it on my blog since then. Today is the day to share!
I think this poem is absolutely art in the form of words. I adore it and it's wisdom.
Enjoy:
'If--'
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 all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath 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!
- Rudyard Kipling, 1865-1936
I know that life is changing all of the time and we {our soul and mindset and heart} are changing as well. If you start to think about it too much, it can really be scary and daunting. This poem reminds me of all of the changes, but also of all of the crappy things that we have to go through in life. I love how the poem doesn't ignore the issues that we will face, but instead greets them at the door and responds with the up-most positivity. This poem provides me with reason and wisdom and also gives me a deep feeling of excitement and inspiration for life.
Throughout all of the change and crud that is constant and inevitable, I must remind myself of the words above and to never lose sight of who "Amanda Macy" really is, what her "hopes & dreams" are {though those may change, which is completely okay} and what the "right way" is to carry myself throughout my minutes.
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it
:) amc
