#If - A Poem About Social Media

Take a moment to pause in your day and take stock.  When I find things getting too hectic I often remember the poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling which was advice he wrote to his son.  I have ‘translated’ his words in a new poem ‘#If’ to offer sound advice on handling social media in today’s digital age.

#If  : an adaption of ‘If’ written with relevance to today’s  social media by Karen kestrel

If you can quiet your mind within the noisy digital chatter,
Be Mindful and discern what's actually going on,
Know your Truth and stay true to yourself always,
While having compassion for others' views,
Take time to digest, no knee-jerk reactions, no instant-fix images
To be regretted in an unforgotten digital footprint,
Do not be persuaded into a texting piranha feast,
Be not ego nor insecurity led, let unfiltered selfies abide.

Envy not the mirage of glamorous lives on social media
Make mind free time and remember that we are not just what we think.
Don't yearn for Likes, nor be harmed by dark emoji's,
For both are in disguise and imposters of real feelings.

Don't give way to casual interviews, nor text in haste
As you may fall at the mercy of a cruel edit to fit another’s agenda,
Nor witness good intentioned digital group chat turned,
Choose to disengage with toxic exchanges, instead let your own moral compass guide.

Always engage your hearts’ voice to express feelings,
For we are all as one and have one thing in common, we are unique.
Nurture a good sense of self-worth that cannot be dented
Apply your intention into action to create momentum
That will see your vision and effort across the finish line,
The world is at your feet and the sky as limitless as your imagination,
Be an open reflection for another and know that you are truly loved. 

If   : An Abridged Version of the Poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling

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 of 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 triumph and disaster
And treat them both the same.

If you can bear to hear the truth you have 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 talk in crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
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!