Reading Lessons 361-365, I was reminded that
for a good part of my life I was caught up in the idea that I was alone, and IF
anything were to be done, I would have to do it.
In an English class in my senior year in high
school, I came across Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “If.” I found it very inspiring and taped it to my
portable Remington typewriter case as I went off to Kalamazoo College in
1959. It gave me courage as I faced the immense
challenges of college life, and after all, I wanted to be a “manly man.”
If
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
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!
Much later, 1986, I came across A Course in
Miracles, and I learned that I was not alone, experiencing my true dependence.
from Lessons 361-365:
And IF I need a word to help me, He
will give it to me. IF I need a thought,
that will He also give. And IF I need
but stillness and a tranquil, open mind,
these are the gifts I will receive of Him.
He is in charge by my request. And He
will hear and answer me, because He speaks
for God my Father and His holy Son.
from the
Epilogue:
You do not walk
alone.
God's angels hover near and all about.
His Love surrounds you, and of this be sure;
that I will
never leave you comfortless.
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