Principles for Peace
There are certain essential principles that must be adhered to in order to navigate through life. The poet, Runyard Kipling expounded on the important quality of humility that man-kind should seek to emulate.Resiliency is the strength to overcome and conquer even in the worst of circumstances. An attribute of admirable character that makes us worthy of respect is courage and countless tales are told to feed young, impressionable minds.
The poem “If” by Runyard Kipling resonated well with me because it supplied pressing virtues all individuals should seize in order to savor the fruit of life. Any miniscule or generous act of humility is significant and pomposity should be avoided at all costs. It would take an eagles eye to spot the perfection in humanity, but throughout history, we can model the lives of the most humble teachers known to man. Kipling elaborates on this merit by stating in the poem, “If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too” and when he says, “Yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise.” In these lines, the author intends to impress upon the reader the importance of trust and how to expand your intellectual pallet and consider multiple points of view. Life will inevitably throw startling curveballs that can often be burdensome to overcome.
The pathway to prosperity is not always a paved road. Kipling describes how triumph and disaster are two impostors that should be treated one in the same. Only a resilient individual will conquer all obstacles, using the lesson learned as a stepping stone. The poet quotes, “watch the things you gave your life to, broken, and stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools”.An example of this would be that of a woman who married her high-school sweetheart and was dealt unfavorable cards.
After devoting herself to creating a lifestyle that tasted sweet like sugar, she was forced to watch the cookie crumble before her eyes as the marriage began to fall apart. She cautiously mended the broken pieces using her worn down tools and emerged triumphantly. Fear is necessary and for it to be virtuous, it should propel an individual to create positive outcomes. However, courage is the ability to appropriately surmount. Runyard expatiates on this stance describing how often people may come very far only to take a risky chance and potentially lose it all.
It is acceptable to raise angst of what could take place in the future, but an opportunity to make a change for the better is what sets apart the fragile from the determined. The poem “If” preached words of wisdom glazed with virtues to consider. Rudyard Kipling asserts that if all of the above is acquired, “Yours is the Earth, and everything that’s in it.” A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true. Anyone can achieve whatever they may set their mind to, as long as the will to enhance the world through humility, tenacity, and courage is acted upon.
