Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He, who can call today his own:
He who, secure within, can say,
Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today.
— John Dryden (1631 – 1700)
Dryden lived through his share of tumultuous times…he was part of the multitude that left London during the 1665-1666 Great Plague, which killed between 75,000 to 100,000 people in England. So he was well aware that bad things can happen to people and also that if we’re not careful we can throw our lives away by worrying.
I love the first two lines of the poem…they’re in the same spirit as Life is Uncertain, so eat dessert first!, which we talked about last week. The part about being secure within is something I’m always striving for, so that resonates too. But saying “Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today” definitely gives me pause.
Now I’m not a superstitious person. I don’t worry about Friday the 13th, and I don’t knock on wood when I say things are going well. But the thought of saying “Tomorrow do thy worst” is too big a stretch. There’s a part of me that thinks it’s too much like standing on a mountain top in a thunder storm… with my hair standing on end from the static electricity… and saying, “Go ahead, strike me with lightning. I dare you!”
I have to laugh at myself. I don’t believe in Fate, but just in case I’m not about to spit in its eye.
What About You?
Does Dryden’s poem resonate with you at all? Do you believe in Fate? Do you knock on wood or indulge in a similar activity “just in case”?
‘Do you believe in Fate? Do you knock on wood or indulge in a similar activity “just in case”?’
No, but I’ve been on a mountain with my hair standing on end. Only once. When you live in the mountains & you hike, it can happen. Now we have good weather reports which help avoid electrical storms.
bikehikebabe,
Yes, that’s a scary thing. We used to try to be down off the peaks shortly after noon.
I don’t believe in fate – I do believe pride is foolish, and often goes before . . .
Evans last blog post..I’m Getting Married
Yes it does and Yes I do. We just call it the law of karma. There is never any escape from it. Atheists simply call it the rule of cause and effect.
I get inspired about life in general and mine in particular by going back often to Viktor Frankl. I quote and I hope that you will get inspired too.
“…..the opportunities to act properly, the potentialities to fulfill a meaning, are affected by the irreversibility of our lives. But also the potentialities alone are so affected. For as soon as we have used an opportunity and have actualized a potential meaning, we have done so once and for all. We have rescued it into the past, nothing is irretrievably lost, but rather, on the contrary, everything is irrevocably stored and treasured. To be sure, people tend to see only the stubble field of transitoriness but overlook and forget the full granaries of the past into which they brought the harvest of their lives: the deeds done, the loves loved, and last but not least, the sufferings they have gone through with courage and dignity.
From this one may see that there is no reason to pity old people. Instead, young people should envy them. It is true that the old have no opportunities, no possibilities in the future. But they have more than that. Instead of possibilities in the future, they have realities in the past – the potentialities that they have actualized, the meanings they have fulfilled, the values they have realized – and nothing and nobody can ever remove these assets from the past.”
Viktor E Frankl – Man’s Search for Meaning.
Another quote that I love to refer to is –
“For a long time it seemed to me that real life was about to begin, but there was always some obstacle in the way. Something had to be got through first, some unfinished business; time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.” ~ Bette Howland
rummusers last blog post..Eat A Lot Of Greens.
Evan,
I tend to agree with you. About pride: our present-day American culture tends to reward it. Sometimes it leads to a downfall, but not always. Sometimes it leads to success. That’s not the way I would like it to be. 🙂
rummuser,
I read Viktor Frankl years ago, but that quote didn’t stick at the time. It means a lot more now. It’s refreshing for those of us living in a youth-worshipping society. Thank you.
I am familiar with the Bette Howland one, and it’s one of my favorites. That’s also refreshing because we hear so much about how we should be goal-oriented. That doesn’t make sense to me. It’s fine to have a sense of direction, but when one is mainly focused on future achievements, we’re essentially saying the present isn’t worth anything.
The poem’s fine. But I really like the puppy photo! Dogs know how to live as if there’s no tomorrow.
Square Peg Guy,
Amen to that. 🙂 That’s why I decided a picture of a man wouldn’t do. Dogs do it so much better.