Hey guys, this one's a doozy! I thought this story was worthy of being told. I already feel better having written it all out.
But if long-winded diatribes aren't your cup of tea, I won't be offended if you skip this one. ngl though, it's got some juicy bits. I'd love to know how all of this jives with the experiences and observations of many of you out there.
If you're doing what I think you are going to do, God bless you man! Not many travel the road of the righteous but it is certainly a path towards a respectable position in the afterlife. I took some time to consider the challenges that you have and will likely face and I'm sure it will be a daunting task. Take it slow and consult with God in every decision that you make because they will be trying to trick you and throw stones in your path every step of the way as I'm certain you have already realized. I pray for you to keep up your strength so that you may recover with grace if you should ever stumble.
What if there is no afterlife and the kingdom of god you’re hoping to enter is within?
What if this physical incarnation is the real gift and you throw it away hoping for something better when this is over?
What if the ones who sew doubt are punished significantly harder than the ones who commit a sin of passion?
Life is a paradox. "The more you take the less you have." These words are true. "He who seeks his life shall lose it. He who gives his life (in the service of others) will find it." This is true whether there is an afterlife or not.
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 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!
Kipling is referring to something unseen - something worth infinitely more than being "King of the World."