Rudyard Kipling If 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 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! There could be many meanings of Rudyard Kipling's If poem. Depending on the read er's perception, this poem could take on several different meanings. However, it does give a great basis for contemplating one's own meaning of life's difficult ies and one's outlook on life. For myself, as I analyze this poem and what it means to me, I can gain a sense o f life's challenges and how one can overcome the doubting Thomas' or those who c annot take responsibility for their own actions. My contribution is how I interp ret this poem and what it means to me. Several of life's challenges can be construed from the first eight lines. People who are unable to accept responsibility for their actions or inactions will shi rk their responsibility on the matter and blame someone else for their misgiving s. The poem stresses the importance of accepting one's own responsibility for th e choices made; not to play the blame game. Look within yourself for the answers and do not allow others to push you down or make you feel small and unworthy of life's good things. The poem stresses the importance of being true to yourself and when the doubting Thomas' try to break you down by doubting your abilities don't let those doubts

keep you from achieving your goals. However, take note of those who doubt you. Consider their doubts and make improvements to yourself or life as you know it t o counteract those doubts. Learn to be humble and don't become a braggart. Dare to dream, but do not allow that dream to control your every waking moment. Embrace the dream as your own, but do not trample others to achieve that dream. Be triumphant when your dreams are fulfilled, but do not become a martyr. When d isasters occur in life, learn from them; do not ignore the disasters or triumphs in your life as they both have different effects on life as you know it. Both c an destroy and both can give life. How you interpret that is your choice and how you choose to live will not only affect you, but will affect anything and every thing that is near and dear to you. Learn to speak the truth and take responsibility for your actions or inactions t hat may cause an upset in your life. Do not place blame where it doesn't belong. You make your own choices and placing the blame on others only exacerbates the problem. You cannot learn from bad choices if you constantly blame others for yo ur misgivings. When life throws you curves from the side lines, steer around tho se curves, embrace them as a learning tool, and do not lose sight of lessons learned. When you've been kicked down, get back up and do not by any means allow that kic k to destroy your true self. Become stronger and wiser because of those lessons learned. Gather all things that are broken in your life and put them back togeth er again to make it stronger. Strength is in the way you handle the stressful ti mes in your life whether those stressors are good or bad. Live your life in the right way. Be true to yourself. Be true to others. Leave a mark on the world, so once you're gone from this mortal world, you will be remembered with kindness a nd love. Do not allow success to overcome your kindness to others and do not lose the abi lity to have compassion and empathy for others' plight. Walk with the kings, but do not tread on others to get there. This sentence has great meaning all by its elf. Do not lose yourself in the money world and do not put others down because of their situations. Give as much as you can to others who need your help and do not focus solely on your goals in life without being careful or wary of those a ctions and what those actions might do to others. Do not become oblivious to others' pain and suffering. Be kind and offer them yo ur help. Turning your back on the needy is selfish and greedy. By doing this to others, you are not only hurting those who need your help, you are hurting yours elf. Become a man of integrity and compassion because it will bring you rewardin g outcomes. Be true to yourself, your loved ones, and anyone else who might cros s paths with you. You know the saying: the grass is always greener on the other side? It's meaning can be numerous, but the meaning has a lot of truth. Do not b urn your bridges because some day that grass on the other side of the bridge mig ht look really good to you and you can't achieve your goal of reaching that gras s because you burned all your bridges. As you can see, I've given my analysis of the poem If. My analysis may be the sa me as, similar as, or completely different from those who will be reading this a nalysis. In short, to me this poem puts a great emphasis on do unto others as yo u would have them do unto you. If you can get through life with all its curves, good or bad, you can be proud of yourself for tackling problems head on. Be humb le and do not brag about your successes or whine about your losses. If you can g o without bragging and whining and learn from your mistakes, you will achieve th e greatest rewards: to be a man. ------------

SEVEN REPRIMANDS By Kahlil Gibran &/\&/\& I reprimanded my soul seven times ! The first time: when I attempted to exalt myself by exploiting the weak. The second time: when I feigned a limp before those who were crippled. The third time: when, given a choice, I elected the easy rather than the difficult. The fourth time: when I made a mistake I consoled myself with the mistakes of others. The fifth time: when I was docile because of fear and then claimed to be strong in patience. The sixth time: when I held my garments upraised to avoid the mud of Life. The seventh time: when I stood in hymnal to God and considered the singing a virtue.