'If...' you could change the world. The poem 'If...', by the poet Rudyard Kipling, was written as a tribute to politician Leander Starr Jameson in 1895, who served as the inspiration for the characteristics that Kipling recommended young people to live by. 'If...' was written in the form of parental advice to the poet's own son John. Elizabeth Longford wrote of Starr Jameson "One could not help falling for the man in his presence.... People attached themselves to Jameson with extraordinary fervour." This was a man who inspired 'hero worship' and was a natural leader. The wide sphere of his work and achievements, and the accepted dominion of his personality and his influence were both based upon his adherence to the principle of always subordinating personal considerations to the work in hand; upon the loyalty of his service to others and to higher ideals. Jameson's whole life seemed to illustrate the truth of the saying that in self-regard and self-centredness there is no profit, and that only in sacrificing himself for impersonal aims can a man save his soul and benefit his fellow men. Mahatma Gandhi wrote "Truth is not to be found by anybody who has not got an abundant sense of humility. If you would swim on the bosom of the ocean of Truth you must reduce yourself to zero." There is real personal power in humility. Your highest Self - your higher power - will carry you much further than your ego. We will still be talking about Gandhi in the centuries to come. The ancient Hindu text reminds me of the poem 'If...' "He who is the same to friend and foe, and also in honour and dishonour, who is the same in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, who is wholly free from attachment; To whom praise and blame are equal, who is silent, content with every fortune, home-renouncing, steadfast in mind, and worships Me, that man is dear to Me." Now for Kipling's poem...
Rudyard Kipling
'If...' by Rudyard Kipling:
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!
The poem 'If...' is read beautifully by Sir Michael Caine.
Sir Michael Caine reading 'If..." by Rudyard Kipling
The unforgettable lines for me are:
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 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 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;
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
The reason that these lines pique my interest is that they summarise the qualities that allow us to live in this tumultuous, toxic, drama-fuelled world, in the same rousing spirit as the poem 'Invictus', by William Ernest Henry, who was well known to Kipling.
The poem describes the goal of spiritual awakening, which is to remain seated at the 'seat of your soul' and refuse any invitation to conflict, by BEing an observer and not getting involved in the confused mêlée that is life right now. All conflict is the result of egoic reaction. The way out of this 'Drama Triangle' is to remain present, respond if necessary, but never react. Mahatma Gandhi said "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." When one points a finger at someone else, three of our own fingers are always pointed back at us.
The poem reminds me of the lines from William Shakespeare in 'Macbeth':
"Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."
There is much here to be reflected on. ‘It’s all sound and fury, signifying nothing’ is something you may say to, or about, a person who is making a big fuss, maybe shouting and using foul language, and becoming really angry concerning a particular issue: When in truth it’s not anything that they can do anything about; That is nothing to do with anyone else; Where the issue is not even the issue; And all the noise amounts to nothing and is just a waste of everyone's time and energy.
Everyone is struggling right now, but rather than admitting to this, some people project all their lifelong fears onto someone else. This is not the path to Truth, love, peace, and joy. For this one has to take a highly individualised journey inside.
The world is full of unconscious traumatised people traumatising other unconscious traumatised people. Hurt people hurt people. The way forward is to wake up to clarity and Truth. Healed people heal people. Awakened people awaken people. Love always wins. Hatred always loses. Fear is a liar.
Instead of breeding hatred, spreading lies, and seeking conflict, in each moment throughout the day, ask yourself the questions:"What can I do right now to serve? What would love do?" When we cultivate the awareness to ask these questions repeatedly throughout the day, miracles start to happen. It will not only transform your own adversities into gifts of service to others, it will have an impact far beyond what you can imagine. The world is waiting for your contribution to its evolution. Go ahead, start a movement. If we don't, human beings are pretty much doomed.
The most wisdom-repleted lines for me in the poem are: "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster; And treat those two impostors just the same." This is the key to ignite and turbocharge your infinite possibility. Take intuitive action, and then surrender the outcome to the Universe. You will be rewarded by the Grace to claim miracles.
Forming the subject matter of the "hospital poems" were often Henley's observations of the plights of the patients in the hospital beds around him. Specifically the poem "Suicide" depicts not only the deepest depths of the human emotions, but also the horrid conditions of the working class Victorian poor in Britain. As Henley observed first-hand, the stress of poverty and the vice of addiction pushed a man to the brink of human endurance. In part, the poem reads:
'Suicide' by William Ernest Henley
Lack of work and lack of victuals,
A debauch of smuggled whisky,
And his children in the workhouse
Made the world so black a riddl
That he plunged for a solution;
And, although his knife was edgeless,
He was sinking fast towards one, When they came, and found, and saved him.
But you have to feel to heal. You have to embrace, then let go of your emotions to become the 'Captain of your soul.' Otherwise you will be driven to 'A debauch of smuggled whisky' and plunging for a mortal solution to your pain.
I have been where you are. I know the way. Love your Self, have Self-compassion; then pass it on...
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I have a Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Cambridge; a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Trinity College, Cambridge; a PhD Doctorate in Scientific Research from University College London (UCL); a Medical Degree (MD/MBBS) from The Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London and have been a doctor and reconstructive trauma and cancer surgeon in London for 20 years. I have published over 50 peer reviewed scientific journal articles, have been an associate editor and frequent scientific faculty member, and am the author of several scientific books. I have been awarded my Diploma in Transformative Life Coaching in London, which has International Coaching Federation (ICF) Accreditation, as well as the UK Association for Coaching (AC), and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). I have been on my own transformative journey full time for four years and I am ready to be your guide to you finding out who you really are and how the world works.