The Rolling Stones sang a song called Time is on My Side. But is time really on our side? A song from Fiddler on the Roof called Sunrise Sunset tells us this about how time passes so quickly in our lives, “Is this the little girl I carried? Is this the little boy at play? I don’t remember growing older, when did they? Wasn’t yesterday, they were small? Sunrise sunset swiftly flows the day.”
Life has a way of getting away from us. Harry Chapan sang this song, Cats in the Cradle. “My child arrived just the other day. He came to the world in the usual way but there were planes to catch, and bills to pay. He learned to walk while I was away…My son turned ten just the other day. He said, thanks for the ball, dad, come on let’s play. Can you teach me to throw, I said-a, not today… Well, he came from college just the other day so much like a man I just had to say Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while? He shook his head, and they said with a smile. What I’d really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys. See you later, can I have them please?… I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away. I called him up just the other day. I said, I’d like to see you if you don’t mind. He said, I’d love to, Dad, if I can find the time. You see, my new job’s a hassle, and the kids have the flu but it’s sure nice talking to you, Dad.”
This is a sad song about life. Like the song Sunrise and Sunset, Cats in the Cradle tells us just how quickly we can forget the people who are part of our lives, and it is these people, who should be more important than anything or anyone else in our lives. Today we sit on our phones and we forget that there is a world out there and there are people who we should be sharing our lives with, not by texting, but by talking with one another. Life is short. Every sunrise and every sunset rushes by and the day turns to months and years, and before you know it you are old and you see your family and friends pass away. Yes, when you are young you don’t think about getting old, and especially so quickly, but it happens to everyone and one day you too will be looking back and saying those same words, “Where has the time gone?” Cell phones and Social Media have stolen time from many people. When we are young we think only of our friends and how important they are to us. Yes, being social is good, but not when it sacrifices the lives of our families. Parents, grandparents, even aunts and uncles all one day will be gone, and if you have the attitude “Oh well, that’s life,” your forgeting that one day it will be you who will be sitting alone hoping that your children or grandchildren will give you the attention that you will need. Cats in the Cradle is just that. You reap what you sow, and you will learn that what is important to you today will one day be important to your children. And if what is important to you is not your family, but your friends, or running to see the world, then one day the time will come when you will reap that which you have sown, and it will lead you to a sad day, a lonely day. So put the phones down especially at the dinner table and talk to one another. Take the time to love one another. Family is important, and it is important to be part of each other’s lives. Yes, friends are important too, but we have a moral obligation to our family. Take the time to know one another. Take the time to help one another. Take the time, because time is not on your side. It is not your friend, and as the sunrises and the sunsets, time is quickly running away with your life.