This is one of my favorite poems. The origin and the poet of this poem if disputed. Some say that the source is unknown while others believe that Robert Smith has penned this down. Whoever wrote this has created a masterpiece!
This poem is short but gives a very important message. Read it with a calm mind and I am sure it will leave an impact on you. This poem changed a lot of things in my life. One thing being valuing people around me! I have become quite modest and soft spoken and I have learnt to place myself in other’s shoe before forming an opinion.
The poem rightly says that we get life only once and nobody has the power to tell when would be our last day. This truth is so scary! Yeah, it is very very scary for me because there are n number of things that I keep pushing away to another day just because I don’t feel it is important enough to do it today and just imagine, what shall happen if I don’t have a tomorrow??
The poem further talks about how important it is to not allow losing the soul. It says that it is sad to lose wealth, even worse to lose health but worst is to lose the soul. And in today’s materialistic world, unfortunately the importance of these three words has been reversed. Almost all of us are running after money today and to make money we make lot of (so called) compromises! The lifestyle that we have today is extremely hazardous to our health but do we really care? We just want to make more money and we can overlook our health for that. There are no fewer examples of those who sell their souls to make money. More often than not, we are standing at the edge of morals and (worldly) duties and we often end up choosing duties over morals for whatever reasons. A very common example is bribing an official to sign a certificate. While we do so, we may not think it is a big deal, but if we do a moral check, it indeed is a big deal! I came across a clever photograph that emphasizes this part of the poem
The poet rightly says that whatever we own is just TODAY. Hence, live to the fullest, love as much as you can, make maximum efforts to achieve your goals, and make your dreams come true. Don’t lie back and keep these things for tomorrow, because there may never be a tomorrow!!
One example common to almost all of us is a fight with our dear one. All us have had that ugly fight once in the lifetime at least. But what I learnt from this poem is that it is very important to mend the fight – how much ever ugly or petty it is. Also, I learnt that – Never be too harsh with your words because for all you know, those could be the last words that you ever say to that person. Just imagine how much it will hurt you if a dear one passes away without hearing that sorry from you for all the fights and harsh words that you may have said to him! The thought itself is so heart wrenching.
All that we have is present and we must make the best use of it. Be good, do good. Make a significant contribution to someone else’s life. Help those in need. Share your wealth and goodies with those who are less fortunate. Appreciate others. Respect others. Value relations. And you must do all this TODAY!
All of us know the meaning and implication of this poem but most of us conveniently put it behind us and wear a mask of practicality and take life for granted.
Friends, I hope I was able to reiterate the importance of being good TODAY at least in a small way. There is a lot we can learn from this poem.
I wish you good luck for the first day of the rest of your life!
A Bit of Wisdom & A Bit of Play! 