Hurry up, please …

As I was thinking of life today, particularly my own — where I’ve been, where I am now, and what might be left — I ran across again a statement from Goethe that was especially poignant: “We learn only in old age what happened to us in our youth.” I’m learning something of the truth of that, and something of the regret that accompanies it. Oh, I’m thankful, so very much, for the life that I’ve been given, but the older I get the more I wonder whether I’ve done very well at redeeming the time. It made me think of this passage also from Michael Dirda (see Ben’s post below):

In mid-career, the Russian short-story writer Isaac Babel was arrested by the secret police and never seen again. As he was hustled away, Babel was heard to shout, “But I was not given time to finish.” Who is? Whatever you intend to accomplish with your life, you’d better get a move on, before that last call unexpectedly rings out, “Hurry up, please. It’s time.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *