Dear Loving people,
William Shakespeare, the much celebrated
English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the
English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist says in his book - Venus and Adonis “Make use
of time, let not advantage slip”. I wanted to dwell on it
today but then, I came across an interesting article “Make Use of Time” by
Ashwani Kumar - a politician from the Indian National Congress party, and Minister
of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Planning. I have adapted the article for
your self-edification, read on…
One of the most valuable things on earth is
TIME. Everything is acquired in time; all of man's business is conducted by
time. You could have food, clothing, fabulous homes, wisdom - have all you
want, but if you do not have time, it means - you have nothing. Unfortunately,
this is a lesson many Africans don’t yet know and are not willing to learn. The
sordid concept of ‘Blackman Time’ so
common in Africa says it all. On the other side, one of the worst things to
happen to a man on earth is the loss
of time. When you waste time, you can’t achieve anything; by losing
time, you lose absolutely everything including yourself.
Unfortunately for the
human race, time is the least valued, as a matter of fact, it’s the most misspent
thing on earth. A majority of people live their lives as if they were doing an outrageous
speculation, according to the accepted custom, not the least troubled about
what they did with their days and
years or how
they lived their
lives. Sometimes we mourn over the loss of some existing bits, but we
have no regrets at all, nor are we sorry, when we thoughtlessly lose not just some
petty cash, but the most precious minutes of our time.
“I
did not have the time”; a phrase we hear often, words we often use to justify
our failures, our lack of effort to go after our dreams, words we use to
justify all things not done. Many of us complain that life is unfair, that we
are not born rich; there are no opportunities around us. We blame lack of
money, lack of contacts and lack of resources as the reasons for not succeeding
or not even starting.
You
must not forget that time and not money is your greatest resource. Each
individual has only 24 hours allotted to him/her each day. There might be a lot
of differences between individuals with regard to money, culture and background
but when it comes to time everyone is given the same quantity. In this, life
shows that it is fair; it shows that nature and God do not distinguish between
rich or poor. Everyone has the same amount of time.
Within
the time available, few people go on to become a huge success accomplishing a
lot of things in the process while many of us barely get on with our lives. A
proper utilization of the time can offset the inequalities imposed by birth or
by any other reason.
Your
greatest advantage, resource and asset is time. Do not throw it away; do not
let it slip away. Do not merely spend it, but use it efficiently and
effectively to a good purpose. Many of us give the impression of being busy; we
are busy in a lot of fruitless activities, in wasting time. Think about it, you
might be busy but are you really accomplishing something, are you doing
something worthwhile.
Do
not complain that you have no time or time is short, there is enough time if
you utilize it correctly and know what you are doing.
Wake
up! And start living.
