POETRY - DANCE OF THE HEART, MIND, AND SOUL

"If"

by Rudyard Kipling (1910)

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 imposters 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 wornout 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 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!

-- Thank you for the poem share namaste in your comment on my life principles!
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November 29, 2008 7:31 AM

Anonymous said...

Although not a poem, this is a passage I personally have found inspirational and appreciate it's poignant lessons and truth--

Excerpt from "Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy," by Sarah Ban Breathnach, ISBN 0-446-51913-8

"Pray the Journey is Long"

Life as a journey. Life as a safari. Life as a pilgrimage. Life as a garden. Life as the highest art.
Pathfinders. Prospectors. Pioneers. Detectives. Explorers. Archaeologists. Pilgrims. Poets. Sojourners. Gardeners. Artists of the Everyday.

Women (and men) of Spirit. Women of substance. Women with style. Women who have lived the questions. Women ready to embrace the answers. Women who look great in hats. That's why we wear so many different ones.
Seekers of the Sacred in the ordinary. Real Life. The Mystical in the madness. The Holy Mysteries in the mundane.
Seekers of Love. Passion. Wholeness.
Authenticity.
Where are we headed?
We're headed Home.
Ithaka.
But before we arrive, there are vast worlds awaiting exploration. Worlds within. Worlds without. Earth. Heaven.
Heaven on earth.
Sometimes the terrain is rocky and the slopes steep. Sometimes the jungle is thick and its interior very dark. Sometimes the water is deep and the waves extremely rough.
Do you see now why we need some variety in our approaches?
How will we know when we get there?
You'll know.
It's that simple. Real things are.
Are we there yet?
Not quite.
But it's taking too long.
Often it seems that way. Chronologically we're at the end of the year but the beginning of the journey. Not to worry. We'll have the time we need in **kairos to find ourselves.
Each of us has discoveries that we need to make on our own.
But you won't be alone. Someone who loves you unconditionally is at the helm. Divine Love sustains you, surrounds you, enfolds you, protects you.
Go in peace.
You're as ready as you'll ever be; well equipped for the adventures awaiting. Divine Substance--which is your only Reality--provides abundantly.

--It continues to say that you must ask...ask...ask (ask for help, supply, guidance, Grace and a respite from all of your crises...suffering, pain), surrender expectations. Believe in yourself, give thanks because "...all that you have is all you need." "...Receive with open arms as wide as you can all the miracles with your name on them..."

Keep on the lookout for soulful markers. They surround you. The Soul's awakening is gratitude. The Soul's essence is simplicity. The Soul's serenity is order. The Soul's serenity is harmony. The Soul's passion is beauty. The Soul's purpose is joy.

Pray your journey be a long one. Savor the stops along the way. They make the search marvelous. Meaningful. Memorable. Find and honor your own pace. There are still so many harbors to be seen for the first time. You're headed for someplace you've never been before. Keep your thoughts held high. Let personal passions stir your mind, body, and spirit....If you get stuck, look out at the wider vista and see how far you've traveled.
Set your course for Authentica....No longer will you see things as they are. You will see things as YOU are. Through the parting of the midsts where doubt and faith meet, you will see the authentic self is the Soul made visible.

** "Chronos is clocks, deadlines, watches, calendars. Chronos keeps track... Chronos is the world's time. KAIROS is transcendence, infinity, reverence, joy, passion, love; the Sacred....Kairos is Spirit's time. We exist in chronos. We long for kairos. That's our duality. We do in chronos. In kairos we're allowed to be."

-- Thank you for the share Anonymous in your comment on my poetry - dance of the heart, mind, and soul!
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Posted by PointOfLight13

This is one of my favorites

13 December 2008 02:15 AM

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

--Robert Frost, 1915

Some Analysis
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/frost_road.html
http://poetry.suite101.com/article.cfm/robert_frost_s_tricky_poem
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