I am currently sitting in a restaurant in Glasgow with a glass of white wine and a chicken Milanese. Outside the air is warm (which having travelled to Glasgow before I know is unusual!). I am here on a work trip. I am on my own and I have the luxury of being able to sit and think and watch the world go by – in all it’s sunburnt glory. (As I said it’s not often warm in Glasgow).
To get here I walked through George Square which is being thoroughly spruced up for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. On my way I passed lots of bars and cafes where I could here snatches of the World Cup being played out on big screens. The tennis at Wimbledon is just a week away and from my husbands addiction to sports heavy radio I know cricket is being played. It seems that a summer of sport is upon us.
With this in mind it seemed appropriate to make a gentle nod towards all those toned, honed match ready athletes that will be gracing our screens and airwaves by way of this rousing and well known piece of poetry entitled ‘Thinking’ by Walter D Witman. I discovered this in an anthology of poetry called ‘Winning Words’ which was compiled for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Thinking
If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don’t,
If you like to win, but you think you can’t
It is almost certain you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!
