Crushing Defeat and the Code

The New Orleans Saints were beaten on a “miracle” pass play of 61 yards as time expired.  It is one of those crushing moments that we all hope never to experience.  Those on the losing side (and those on the winning side) will never forget how they felt.  The truth is that we all have those moments – not on a national stage, but in our own lives.  Most of us can remember a contest “we should have won.”  Or, we can remember something that was important to us, that we worked hard to accomplish, but somehow came up short.  It’s always good to think about Kipling’s words: “If you can meet triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same…”  What does he mean by that?  He means how we react, how we move forward should be the same – the same determination as before, the same bearing, the same larger goal still before us.  Why are triumph and disaster “imposters?”  An imposter is someone who pretends to be someone he or she is not.  Kipling means, we think, that whatever the triumph or disaster is, it is not the end – it is just a milestone, a marker, along the way.  Triumph and disaster will come to all of us; the greater test is how we carry on afterward.  What other thoughts do you have?