As If….💕

One of my favorite poems is “If” by Rudyard Kipling. In the second stanza he writes “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…” and the poem comes to conclusion with “Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it...”.

Mr. Kipling is writing of ‘control’ and the benefit of making our attempts to avoid its siren song. How often do we - with the best of intentions - find ourselves trying to control life. Letting go of our need to control, I believe, is coming into alignment with Faith. Some say the opposite of faith is fear. Others say the opposite of faith is doubt. I think the opposite of faith is a need to control. If we have faith that the universe is unfolding as it should, why should we feel the need to exert a need to control it.

I particularly like the line “…Triumph and Disaster and treat those two imposters just the same…”. How often have we judged an event in our lives “good” or “bad” only to find out later our judgment was unfounded. The idea of attempting to control life becomes even more ludicrous when we realize we really have no idea what is unfolding as it unfolds.

I have found that everything in life worth having is found on the inside: peace, serenity, wisdom, love, compassion, understanding…. As we let go of our need to control life, we begin to take in the beauty and wonder of all that is - as it is. From this point of view, the Earth is ours and everything that’s in it.