IF .... by Rudyard Kipling .....

[IF]

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If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

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If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you

But make allowance for their doubting too,

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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:

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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;

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If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

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Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

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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;

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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!"

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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,

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If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

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Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

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--Rudyard Kipling

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[IF]
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If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
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This is easier said than done .... especially when the people blaming are your friends ....
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If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too

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I am doing pretty well with this part ... trying to stay in touch with people from FP who might still be my friends ....
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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:
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Hmmmm ..... not doing too well here ... I am very angry with what has happened to FP and the people who caused it to happen. I am not dealing in lies ... and hatred is a bit strong ... but extreme dislike is possible ...

Looking Good? Hmph ... just me ...

Talking Wise? Hmph ... just me ....
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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;
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I'll need to think about this stuff some more ....
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If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
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WOW ... this pretty much sums it all up, doesn't it??
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Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
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I would have given my life for my friends in FP ... now ... who are my friends? Who can I trust ... I know of 2 .... where used to be 20.

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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;
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Ahhhh .... now this is a whole other thing about my life ... and this I can do with the help of Tom and Robbie and life in the US of A ...
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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!"
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I have not really been put in this situation ... this is left to determine ... I'd like to think so ... but ...

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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,
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Sorry ... total failure here ... Friends can hurt me ... I gave them that power and they used it ... my bad ...

I am unsure how else to be a friend, though ....

And my friends do count more than others to me ... some count a lot ...
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If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
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Hmmmmm ..... not sure if I could run for 60 seconds ....
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Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!
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Well ... woman .... but I get it ....
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--Rudyard Kipling