《If》

昨天看了一篇訪問，

被訪者是周玉琴女士。

才疏學淺的我其實是第一次聽她的名字，

她是位談吐得體，溫文儒雅，

富有女性魅力的一位女強人，

更是新加坡福布斯富豪榜上唯一的女士。

（有興趣的話不妨到網上看看）　

　

在訪談中她分享了一首短詩 —— 《If》

作者是英國詩人Rudyard Kipling 以父親的角度寫給兒子的，

（不幸地，兒子在第一次世界大戰時去世。）

內容充滿了對人生看法，

以及一些哲學的味道。
　

而周女士對此也有一番見解（十分有共嗚）：

「我覺得它是想告訴你生活是一種平衡，

　不單只是黑與白，

　在許多情況下我們不能太極端；

　而我亦發現時下的人都把事情看得太過簡單，

　凡事不是對就是錯，好或壞，

　但其實生活比這更複雜。」　

.

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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 impostors 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 worn-out tools.

　

If you can make a 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!

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# 周玉琴

#《If》— Rudyard Kipling