I like the way life tends to remind you certain things,
at certain times. As it always does, well in my life anyway.
After these few days of …
getting over jetlag,
and then getting sleep deprived again thanks to a certain
Champagne-chugger in New York, …
to getting back into work mode again (and happily so) ..
to worrying about things like money and bookings and bills …
and to start making plans and dates with loved ones and friends ..
ALL OVER AGAIN …
My friend Debs, who I used to work with and now work with again (!),
today ever so kindly gave me a poster she knew I’d appreciate.
It’s this one below, … and it’s huge!
I love it. Thank you Debs! xo
I guess it’s one of those little reminders again that tell you
‘oi. stop being so memememememe me me me me okay.’
And just to remember the things that are softer,
smaller,
more quiet,
more true,
more real.
Like what Daw Suu Kyi means to me, I guess.
Kinda slaps you in the face to show you how lucky you
are not to be in the same freaking compound for 14 years.
In this business, and I guess in many other fields,
it’s so so easy to get all puffed up. You get to talk
to big time politicians, you can get VIP treatment, you
can get bee’s-knees praise for your work, you can get sudden
a sudden wave of flattery from people who used to judge you,
you could get tantalising offers … and then it’s so easy to forget
that
you could so easily be bantai-ed kao kao, scolded for a crappy piece,
scolding yourself for a crappy piece, be getting ignored by
both politicians and other journos, getting reminded
that no one reads you at all …
You know, these kinds of things.
And so you realise, that these things are fleeting,
and that all you have is strength and confidence in yourself
that you will always try to be the same.
And not have your head puffed up and unable to fit through
the exit.
In that spirit,
I was supposed to put this up ages ago due to a request from
kudapuff aka reza for similarly inspiring poems and all, so
I guess this is a good a time as any.
.
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 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 imposters 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 wornout 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!
– Rudyard Kipling, written in 1896
So many good lines, and sometimes my favourites change,
but for now, for obvious reasons (to me at least),
the lines below do it for me.
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same
It’s one of those never-gets-old poems. Swoon.
…
Wonder what your favourites are based on the state of your
life at the moment.
This was the day we drove from Arizona to Texas, stopping by
a Loves gas station and eating our dinner (Subs) for the day.
It was a mellow, mellow day.
xo
