The Disappointment of Inaction

Very soon your life here will end; consider, then, what may be in store for you elsewhere. Today we live; tomorrow we die and are quickly forgotten.… Therefore, in every deed and every thought, act as though you were to die this very day.… If you are not prepared today, how will you be prepared tomorrow? Tomorrow is an uncertain day; how do you know you will have a tomorrow?

If you have ever seen a man die, remember that you, too, must go the same way. In the morning consider that you may not live till evening, and when evening comes do not dare to promise yourself the dawn. Be always ready, therefore, and so live that death will never take you unprepared. Many die suddenly and unexpectedly, for in the unexpected hour the Son of God will come. When that last moment arrives you will begin to have a different opinion of the life that is now entirely past and you will regret very much that you were so careless and remiss.

Do not put your trust in friends and relatives, and do not put off the care of your soul till later, for men will forget you more quickly than you think. It is better to provide now, in time, and send some good account ahead of you than to rely on the help of others. If you do not care for your own welfare now, who will care when you are gone?

The present is very precious; these are the days of salvation; now is the acceptable time. How sad that you do not spend the time in which you might purchase everlasting life in a better way. The time will come when you will want just one day, just one hour in which to make amends, and do you know whether you will obtain it?

See, then, dearly beloved, the great danger from which you can free yourself and the great fear from which you can be saved, if only you will always be wary and mindful of death. Try to live now in such a manner that at the moment of death you may be glad rather than fearful. Learn to die to the world now, that then you may begin to live with Christ. Learn to spurn all things now, that then you may freely go to Him.
_{Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ}

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Repeat God’s Nam, O my mind,
  or you will repent in the end.
You are given to avarice, O my sinful mind;
  know that tomorrow – if not today –
  you will depart from this world.
Beguiled by the illusion of maya,
  you squander your life….
Take no pride in your wealth and youth –
  one day you will crumble like a piece of paper.
The day Yama comes, grabs you by the hair and dashes you to the ground,
  you will find yourself utterly helpless.
If you do not practise simran and meditation …
  with what face will you go before Dharmrai,
  the divine judge, when he calls you to account?
Listen, … through the company of saints
  you will sail across the ocean of existence.
_{Kabir, Voice of the Heart}

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If you wish to … meditate, then the time to start is right now. Procrastinating will produce many hindrances.… You will follow your impulses and get caught up in countless distractions, while consoling yourself with the thought, “I can always practise later.” Without allowing time for the mind to relax and become tranquil by meditating, you busily rush through life fulfilling each moment with things that “really must be done!” Each new year you resolve to begin Dharma practice seriously, but end up putting it off until next month, next year, then the next year until ‘next’ becomes next life!
_{Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden, as quoted in Buddhism: Path to Nirvana}

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In twenty years, your inactions will disappoint you more than actions. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
_{H. Jackson Brown Jr.in P.S. I Love You}