Two amazing poems...

Here are two poems that I think almost all black belts can appreciate at some level.  Given that each black belt takes time, determination, sacrifice, and sometimes a little suffering.  We definitely walk a different path than most:

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost 

Poem provided by Poets.org - The Road Not Taken


This poem is a bit more altruistic but I think it is a good perspective for anyone.  Especially for a black belt.  I really like this one too.  The description of my blog in the header is derived from this poem in part.   

To Have Succeeded

To laugh often and love much:
To win respect of intelligent people
And the affection of children;
To earn the approbation of honest critics
And endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To give one's self;
To leave the world a little better,
Whether by a healthy child,
A garden patch,
Or redeemed social condition;
To have played and laughed with enthusiasm
And sung with exultation;
To know even one life has breathed easier
Because you have lived...
This is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Poem provided by Theo Pavlidis - To Have Succeeded

I am always happy to hear good quotes or poems if anyone finds something interesting to post to comments.  I will have a post of some of my favorite quotes next week sometime.