Amy's mother shared
If
"If"
Author|Rudyard kipling
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 meet with Triumph and Disaster,
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you face victory and disaster calmly,
Be open-minded about the illusory victory, defeat, honor and disgrace;
If you can bear to hear
the truth you've spoken,
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
If you can stand such scoundrels,
Or watch the things you
gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up
with worn-out tools;
Or watch the career you have built with your hard work collapse,
still be able to bear the humiliation and bear the burden and climb back up on the ground;
If you can make one
heap of all your winnings,
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
All victory,
A desperate move for a higher goal,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss ;
Faced with loss, resolve to start all over again without mentioning your loss;
If you can force your
heart and nerve and sinew,
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
If people have already left you, you can still hold your position and push forward,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you,
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
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
Or walk with the princes without showing flattery;
If neither foes nor loving
friends can hurt you;
If neither friend nor enemy can cause harm to you;
If all men count with you,
but none too much;
If all men count with you,
You are trustworthy but not overly dependent;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute,
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
If you can fill the unforgiving minute,
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Cherish time like gold and use every unrecoverable minute;
Yours is the Earth and
everything that's in it,
Then, your cultivation Because you will be as broad as heaven and earth,
and have your own world,
And - which is more - you'll
be a Man my son!
More importantly: son, you have become a truly upright person!