He huffed and puffed like the 'Big bad Wolf' in the nursery story of the Three Little Pigs. Only this time, he wasn't trying to bring down a poorly constructed piggy house. He was running. Sweat breaking out on his forehead, every fibre and muscle of his body aching and begging him to stop, he ran.
He had to you see, because a lot depended on the sprint he had embarked upon. At the risk of appearing like a lunatic to the onlooker, he had to race up like one being chased by his greatest fear, all to catch the 7.03am train.
As he turned the corner and got on platform 2B, the last strand of hope he held on to snapped with an almost audible crack, as he watched the rear of the last coach on the train slowly-as if mockingly-ease off on the tracks. He could have sworn it was sticking out its tongue at him!
He had just missed the train. It was by mere seconds that he missed it.
The panic in his heart quickly turned from pandemonium to self retribution as he watched the train leave and as he looked at the information screen that displayed the obvious. Like the 'Harbinger of bad news', the screen told him the next train out to Limboford would be leaving at 9.03am. His job interview at the Giant Corporation was for 9.00am.
Listed as a FTSE 100 company and winner of the TIME 'Most Respected Company of the Year' for 3 years running, the Giant Corporation was the best place to work. He had dreamt about working for Giant Corp since when he was a kid and now that the window of opportunity had finally opened, he had blown it to smithereens, leaving only a wreckage of regret behind.
He might have been able to prove himself at the interview and get the job. After all, he was a brilliant young man, ambitious, with lofty dreams. Now he would have to wait another year to try to get into the prestigious 'Management Trainee Programme'
If only he had been a minute earlier.
If only he had run a little faster perhaps.
If only he had caught the early bus that morning.
If only he had gotten into the shared bathroom earlier, he wouldn't have had to wait for Scott, his housemate, who always took his time in there.
If only he had ironed his clothes the night before, he would have used the bathroom before Scott.
If only he had woken up earlier that morning and not snoozed the alarm three times.
If only he had gone to bed earlier the night before instead of staying up to do the ad hoc research and hurried preparation for the interview.
If only he hadn't spent the better part of the day watching his favorite t.v shows and the game on Channel 4
If only.....
'Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of' -Benjamin Franklin.
The crux of the whole matter is that from sunrise to sunset, dusk to dawn and in between, time quickly fades away.With every wink, every breath, every day that passes, every night we lay to rest, every new season, every holiday, every anniversary.
Every once in a while, I sit back and indulge myself in the reverie of memories. Memories of the immediate past, of growing up and of childhood and what never fails to get me thinking is the fact that so much time has passed so quickly in my lifetime, so much so that I can now count the years in multiples of 10. And all seem just like yesterday.
Who we are and what we become are more or less defined within the confines of how we appropriate our time.
Unfortunately, unlike the many fictional characters of the 'magic box' that have been created, we cannot bend time to create 'The Butterfly Effect'. We cannot hold it still and we cannot travel through it, whether 'Back to the Future' or in competition with 'Dr. Who'.
The most of what we can do for ourselves is make the best of the time that we have, to do the best of what we can. So cliche, but so true- Life is short and every minute counts.
So if there's a dream you have, if there's a task to accomplish, if there's a job to do, if there's a word to say, if there's a feeling to have, if there's a risk to take, an opportunity to grab, if there's some money to be made, if ever there's a life to live, the best time to set about it is NOW!
'Carpe Diem, pluck the day when it is ripe'- Horace.
And one other thing...
'The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.- Rick Warren.
