Somehow, somewhere I came across this little gem. It has been with me for years. Decades, actually.
I always placed it in a position of priority, either pinned above my desk at work or posted on my fridge door at home. I lost it for a few years, and searched for it often. I just found it again this past summer. I am posting it here so I won’t be so apt to lose it again and so I can share it with you.
I don’t know who wrote it, but it’s a response to Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “If.” Ever since reading this version, it has been my goal in life to be as good as my dog. Or at least almost as good. I’d settle for that.
If
If you can start the day without caffeine;
If you can get going without pep pills;
If you can resist complaining and boring people with all your troubles;
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it;
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time;
If you can overlook it when something goes wrong through no fault of your own,
and those you love take it out on you;
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment;
If you can ignore a friend’s limited education and never correct him;
If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend;
If you can face the world without lies or deceit;
If you can conquer tension without medical help;
If you can relax without liquor;
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs;
If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, colour, religion, or politics;
Then, my friends, you are almost as good as your dog.
~ Author Unknown
