To stand on the dividing line between childishness and maturity is “To strike a balance delicate and fine.”

 

To keep old friends, yet make acquaintance new;

To love all beings, human and divine;

To strike a balance delicate and fine;

To blaze new trails, not do as others do;

 

To love your parents, and to love your spouse;

To raise your children, slowly, day by day;

To strengthen them and help them find their way;

To build a home where once stood just a house;

 

To cleave in manhood to the dreams of youth;

To be the same in public as alone;

To seek forgiveness when you must atone;

To speak none but the plain and honest truth;

 

To find some peace amid incessant noise—

Thus will you know that you are men, not boys.

 

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—Photo credit: mjtmail (tiggy)/Flickr