Fate and My Favourite Poem - Two LBC Posts

Life has been getting in the way lately - hence the very late two-posts-in-one LBC post.  The way I look at it, it's better than nothing.

Now, about FATE, last week's LBC topic.  I live in India where people have a lot of belief in luck and fate.  If you commiserate with someone on a misfortune, they often dismiss it by saying "ah, it is my luck."  Something like people in Ireland saying "it's just my luck".  We're all victims of fate, goes the thinking.  The dice rolls and we have to be happy with whatever we get.

Not.

I disagree.  Totally.  

Our thinking influences our fate.  Our words influence it.  It's all down to attitude.  As for me, I plan to enjoy tremendous success during the next few years.  I'm making every thought captive and I'm going to be positive and get ready to enjoy God's blessings.  I will only use positive words.

Now see what happens.

This week's topic is MY FAVOURITE POEM.  Well, I have a few of them.  Lately, I've been reading school poems with my kids, who have been doing school examinations.  

One poem which has impressed me a lot is IF by Rudyard Kipling, an Indian writer of British origin.  It has some great thoughts in it. Here it is.

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! 

Rudyard Kipling

Some great life lessons there.  Although Kipling, with his famous 'white man's burden' quote isn't exactly what you'd call 'politically correct' nowadays.  As for the great thing about 'being a man' in the last line - I'd consider 'being a woman' no less wonderful and great.

But I would.  Wouldn't I?

My thanks to Rudyard Kipling for the inspiring thoughts.  And to freedigitalphotos.net for the images.  And to my LBC group (links in sidebar) for continued inspiration to write posts.