Has it been a challenging week for you?
Well, be careful. Don’t set yourself up for failure by thinking you should be in a state of enjoyment and easy flow.
Triumph and Disaster are both impostors.
What do I mean by that?
Today, I want to share with you one of my favorite pieces of writing. I hope it is source of inspiration and courage for you as it has been for me, when I find myself cursing those challenging moments. I’ve shot a video of me reading it in the way I feel it and it’s written below.
So here I am.
Tonight I am standing on the edge.
At my toes, a great gorge seems to drop down to an alarming depth. What happens when one falls? What comes with defeat? What shadows lurk beneath?
Victory is the easy part of this road, success, a cool summer breeze — all I do is but loosen my shirt. Defeat, troubles, pain and struggles — this is where great men and women are made. This is where virtue shines it’s brightest. This is where copper scratches, tin bends, and steel endures. The good times are a dime a dozen. Who cannot sip wine, eat a fine steak, or smoke a cigar? Rather, who can keep their head when all are losing theirs?
Who can deal with Triumph and Disaster and treat both impostors just the same? Failure, defeat, and disaster are perhaps the finest moments we have to prove just who we really are.
~ Author Unknown
I’d love to hear from you. What inspires you when you are going through tough times? What reflection do you have on this particular piece of writing?
I’d love to chat with you about it here.
Much love,
P.S. Our Art of Feminine Presence™ Europe event is just around the corner. Join me this year to experience what it’s like to “be seen” in the way that you want, to connect with the relaxation of your feminine essence, and do some deep spiritual work and leadership training — all rolled into one amazing event.
Check out dates and worldwide locations here: http://RachaelJayne.com/AFP
Thank you for sending this. I have been in the rabbit hole for so long, I am not sure where up is. This tells me to not blame myself but keep looking for the treasure because it is there even if I can’t see it. Thanks again
You’re so welcome, Linda. Sometimes we need to hear from others what we cannot face ourselves before it’s clear. I’m glad you found some inspiration from this quote.
Wonderful! What a great way to start my morning.
Thanks, Dianne! It’s indeed a great way to get up and going, isn’t it?
thank you … the tears fall freely and with relief. thank you.
I do hope the tears are welcoming, Dawn. Sometimes we just need to cry out our emotions before we can move forward.
Great poem! It lifted my spirit wanting for peace.
I was drowning. People closest to my heart had been trapped by lies.
They turned their backs against me.
I was so down, hurting to the tiniest fibers of my heart.
The pressures were too much burning me to despair.
You’re right… defeats are impostors! Shadows of loose hopes.
Your poem gave me the courage to hang on.
Now, I feel that I am turning into a diamond in the process.
With GOD, whom shall I fear?
The unknown author has borrowed from Rudyard Kipling’s Poem entitled “IF” which happens to be the one I’ve turned to, in times of challenge, for the last 52 years.
Thanks for your lovely reading, Rachael, and for the wonderful things you are doing to help women, all over the globe, step into their personal power and reclaim their feminine essennce.
You are making such a difference !
Thank you, Bernie. That means a lot!
You are a beautiful diamond, Amparo, and I don’t ever want you to be discouraged to the point of despair. There is always something more to look forward to in life. Chin up!
Rudyard Kipling is the author.
I know I heard this in highschool <3 it
Beautiful, isn’t it? Are you a fan of his other works, too, Jodie?
Thanks for giving credit where it’s due, Victoria.
It comes at the perfect time!!! It’s been a tough week indeed!!
Facing challenges help me to embody who I really am… This is very empowering!
Thank you Rachel Jayne for inspiring me through the FSLP and all the resources you share with us…
You’re so welcome, Karine. I am happy to share what resources I can.
Love it Rachael Jayne! Good words, so much truth in them – thank you for sharing this : )
You’re welcome, Jacquie. We all need a little inspiration in our lives from time to time.
Thank you for your book!
I found your book to be inspiring. It is very difficult to find woman that wish to really touch base with their feminity. Thank you
If—
BY RUDYARD KIPLING
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 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!