Wednesday 6 October 2010

Time Stoops To No Man's Lure


We are constantly reminded not to squander money but what of our time? After all, money may be replaced. Time flies:

Stanza XXXVII from the 1st edition of Ed. FitzGerald's translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:

Ah, fill the Cup! What boots it to repeat
How time is slipping underneath our feet.
Unborn Tomorrow and dead Yesterday
Why fret about them if today be sweet?


So how do we avoid squadering our time? First of all, there is much to be said for Rudyard Kipling's suggestion to "fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run" and to make sure that you fill it usefully - and by that I do not mean just with work; constructive or recreational leisure will do just as well, thank you very much.

Even resting up in a hammock and listening to the waves break will do, provided that it is not overdone.

No comments:

Post a Comment