“IF…” - Lê Hoàng Ân

“If…” is a poem by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling, (1865 - 1936)  written in 1895 as a tribute to Leander Starr Jameson. ... The poem, first published in Rewards and Fairies (1910), is written in the form of paternal advice to the poet's son, John.

Truly, the poem "If" is a lesson about what is important in life. ... Having all of the qualities and characteristics mentioned in the poem will make a man out the son and he shall inherit the earth. Truly, the overall theme is one of manhood and leadership. The speaker is teaching his son what it takes to become a man.

“If…” would become the guide to all the scouts in the world

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 being tired by waiting

Or being lied about, don’t deal with 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 thrill 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 had 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 in it

And - which is more - you’ll be a MAN, my son.

                                        Rudyard Kipling

 To be loved, you must love first

To be respected, you must respect first

To be obeyed, you must obey first

Life is what it is, not what we think it should be

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn,

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight,

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be sharp,

If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty,

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient,

If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident,

If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate,

If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice,

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith,

If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself,

If he lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love and warmth.

SEVEN WORDS TO LIVE BY

1 - LIVE           : Be aware, experience, grow

2 - LOVE          : Fraternal, sexual, religious, humanistic

3 - LEARN       : Learn who you are, learn the effect you

  have on others, learn to be at peace with     

  yourself, open your mind to new experiences

4 - THINK        : Think to understand and know

5 - GIVE           : Help, serve and share

6 - LAUGH       : Smile, play and enjoy

7 - TRY            : Try for something better    

Lê Hoàng Ân