Life's lessons by Lincoln and Kipling

I find a striking similarity between one of my favorite poem (If by Rudyard Kipling) and the letter written by Abraham Lincoln to the Headmaster of the school in which his son was studying. Both are deeply motivating and draws the contrast in life. Have a look and appreciate if you may.

If by Rudyard Kiping
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 breath 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!

A letter written by Abraham Lincoln
"He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just and are not true. But teach him if you can, the wonder of books.. but also give him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hillside.

In school, teach him it is far more honorable to fall than to cheat.....

Teach to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him he is wrong.

Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone getting on the bandwagon...

Teach him to listen to all men; but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth, and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him, if you can, how to laugh when he is sad... Teach him there is no shame in tears.

Teach him to scoff at cynics and to be beware of too much sweetness.. Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to highest bidders, but never to put a price on his heart and soul. Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob.. and stand and fight if thinks he is right.

Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him, because only the test of fire makes fine steel. Let him have the courage to be impatient.. Let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself, because then he will have faith in humankind.

This is a big order, but see what you can do. . He is such a fine little fellow my son!"

Have a dream

Trying to chase someone’s dream
Devours most of our time
It looks futile when it’s not even sure
What is real and what is mime

For time may never come back,
At least in our acknowledged dimensions
But dreams if not realized returns
Like nightmares in haunted mansions

A dream’s purpose loses its value
If it not pursued by the original conception
It is like a borrowed success
Which is the biggest of deception

A true dream is different from the dream
That is not dreamt by the dreamer
It’s like a destination reached
By a different traveler

An idea of dream may not be
Enough to claim a fortune infinite
But an idea of dream is enough
To take pleasure in tiring days and sleepless nights

So, I plead to have a dream of yours
When it may be the most futile thought
Because a dreamy eyes and not its sight
Creates the difference between paradise and paradise lost

Consciousness of an end

When you feel something truly
It too will feel your presence
The reciprocity of action has a revelation
Far beyond the worldly intelligence

You will feel the pain of a sacrificial lamb
If you dare to look into its vulnerable eyes
The moment of extinction is distinctly visible
As though it is conveying its cries

You will feel the pain of a withering flower
If you dare to look into its declining beauty
The moment of extinction is distinctly visible
As though it is conveying its cries

You will feel the pain of a dilapidated monument
If you dare to look into its crumbing walls
The moment of extinction is distinctly visible
As though it is conveying its cries

You will feel the pain of a shredded book
If you dare to look into its fading words
The moment of extinction is distinctly visible
As though it is conveying its cries

You will feel the emotion
Only if you care to reciprocate the pain
The origin of which lies in the victim’s eyes
The eyes which may not be distinct like ours
But its perception goes far beneath

Awareness of existence,
Consciousness of an end
Are considered to be human emotion
But I believe in consciousness of the whole
Which encompasses all that has life, lifeless and beyond

The way

Prosperity o prosperity
Do not mock at my luck
I have always made a choice
In favor of my wandering spirit

It may have steered me to an existence
Full of unbridled anomalies
But I live with the vigor of a habitant
Who is supremely content

I do not trust prominence
An outcome of social existence
A reality based on strange collective tendencies
An eventuality which is non existent in higher dimension
Although it tends to show its face by its cruel deeds

So, I decided, not to make an alliance
With the deceitful enemy- the destiny
But only on one condition, which I know, is impossible
If it wants to accompany me
I need the entire life’s declaration

I know that time will change,
Not that I want it to
Circle of life will run through day and night
But I will be the way I should be
And you should be the way you want to be

Mourned celebrations

Your glimpse is like an ephemeral
Gesture of indifferent weather
It surrounds, it caresses and then
Flees like a frothy feather

But I can feel your sweet fragrance
In time and space everywhere
My heart recites your thoughts
With an innocence of a child’s prayer

My beloved do not blame my faithfulness
When your are surrounded by cruel desolation
I have mourned your absence
Even in my overwhelming celebrations

I know that you are my only messiah,
And I am your supreme creation
I worship you knowing that someday
You will come for my absolute demolition

Your thoughts

I was alone and thinking clear
Then I thought about my lovely dear
Having your thoughts brought me joy
But, my thinking process was no more clear

I thought that I was your subject of affection
If you didn’t think then may be I wasn’t
It’s just the wishful thinking that I always do
Or it’s the truth you never tell, or you wouldn’t

Thinking aloud I screamed for illumination
I even thought your thoughts in absolute silence
I imagined you with all my senses
I lost my senses in your absence

Reaching this state I demand the truth
Challenge me with the battle I fought never
I lost everything for my ultimate alliance
So I decided to win you, or lose your thought forever

Who am I?

I enjoy my pain
I cry my laughter
I die my birth
I live my slaughter

I plan my entry
I decide my departure
I am the one who lived in me
I am the one who abandoned it after

I am my own critic
I am my own opinion
I am my own journey
I am my own destination

I am my reassurance
I am my apprehension
I exist with the one
Who is beyond comprehension

A million dollars or knighthood

Recently a friend of mine asked me a question, what would you choose between a million dollars or knighthood and why? He needed to answer the question for his application in one of the business school. His motives were altogether different from mine; however, the question got me thinking. This is what I came up with for an answer:

To be very honest my answer to this question has changed a couple of time since I first read the question. In retrospect when I analyze my thoughts I find that my answer has gone through four distinct stages to reach the final conclusion.

The first thought that crossed my mind after reading the question was, “Can’t I have both a million dollars and knighthood!”. I think that’s a typical self-indulgent answer, though if you look at it deeply, it has some traces of honesty to it. However, I cannot go with it since it would be silly to break the rule of choosing just one option. Isn’t it?

Having rejected my first answer, I started making choices as I always do. In this mode “a choice between a million dollars and the knighthood” was no different from other popular choices like Coke or Pepsi, physics or mathematics, Godfather the book or Godfather the movie. I chose a million dollar, and why? Probably, I like being rich more than being famous, or it’s just the first option I always go for, which is quite evident from my liking for Coke, physics and Godfather the book. Even so, I cannot go with this answer as it is completely based on my whim.

In search for more concrete logic, I did some research comparing numbers of millionaires and people with knighthood in the last decade, and found knighhood to be a rarer breed. While this is true, people with knighthood are already millionaires in almost all of the cases. This leaves me with only one logical choice of opting for knighthood.

Having decided on knighthood gave me a temporary satisfaction of supporting my choice with some solid research and logic. But, soon enough I realized that I still need to go with my first instinct, however, this time the prize (both million dollars and knighhood, or anything for that matter) has to be acquired with hard work and intelligent thinking. I know the answer is still self-indulgent (a bit boring also), but no more silly. Probably, the answer is based on my long time belief that it’s the journey that matters and not the destination.

The follower

This is the strangest way
Of your departure
I can not see
But sense you everywhere

Nothing can transform me
To match your prominence
In submission I destroyed
My own existence

Believing in you
I traveled so far
Moon is my abode now
And companion is a star

To become a preacher
Is not so wise
I became a follower and
This is my only choice

A blissful destruction

Today is the day
Of my destruction
I am thinking about you
In my recollection

The sky has been
Celebrating for so long
It must have known
About my impending death-song

I am burning my house
For the light I can not see
I must be the most blissful soul
In the whole galactic sea

My new abode is
Just few steps away
But, I know, the distance
Will take an eternity of delay

Reality of a dream

Last night I had a dream in my sleep
Or was it a thought, when I was awake?
Whatever it was, it was quite profound
Or was it again, one of my ideas fake?

Wondering about the reality of my thoughts
Questioning about the existence of my dream
I found myself in a state of trance
Or was it again, an intentional scheme?

The question I ask over and again
The doubts I cast in all my themes
Is there any control of self and will?
Or is it again, the being supreme?

An enigma

The one that is in front
Is said to be the biggest odd
The one they never saw
Is said to be the greatest God

Life is said to be means
To a mysterious end
Some people call it an enigma
None can comprehend

Distance between hearts have moved
Beyond reconciliation
Why do they call men
Universe's greatest creation?

Few innocent flowers are still bleeding
In the holy garden
But then blood is necessary to restore
The earth and the heaven

The big question?

I saw my own soul

Disappear in air thin
Suddenly I realized

Everyone is related to him

In an atmosphere

Of such honest purity
How do I measure

My own morality?

Who will decide

If I am the sinner?
There is no discrimination

Between failure and winner?

If that was the case

Then why did it all start?
That is the question

Raised by my curious heart

The other way round

To touch somebody’s heart

Is a great virtue
To let your heart get touched

Is a greater pursuit

To feel somebody’s pain

Is extremely considerate
To have somebody feel your pain

Is what I await

To realize your dream

Is hard work and determination
To help somebody realize his dream

Is real fascination

To have a friend

Is highly valuable
To be somebody’s friend

Is absolutely invaluable

To love someone

Is fortunate enough
To get loved in return

Is exceptional luck

To die for somebody

Is a big sacrifice
To have somebody to die for you

Is the real prize

To have your way

Is no doubt tough
To have the other way round

Is legendry stuff

The overrated simplification

Few things should never be

Explained in easy words
Simplification is my

Idea of being absurd

I may try hard to be explicit

For being convenient
But explanation is not so appealing

Unless incoherent

Clarity of thoughts

Is an idea overrated
Opinions look so monotonous

Unless debated

Let there be inconspicuous thoughts

All around
Let there be corners

In a round

As they say,

“There are two facets to a coin”
I am eager to know the third side

That was never found

The contradictions

Is it possible to believe in something absolutely?
And still fail to live upto it in entirety!
Is it possible to love someone with total heart?
And still the idea of unconditional love drifts you apart!

Is it possible to lead a group with courage and deed?
And still fail to make a call when it is in need!
Is it possible to win a trivial argument and an important war?
And still leave the conquered without a single scar!

Is it possible to look someone in total admiration?
And still desire to find a weakness for accusation!
Is it possible to donate your entire possessions incognito?
And still hoping for the moment when somebody would know!

Is it possible to completely submit yourself for a cause?
And still doubt the righteousness of heavenly laws!

Is it possible to believe in the ultimate reality-the death?
And still fail to consider the truth until your last breath!