Use It Or Lose It, Maggots!
I’m doing a little bit of re-reading of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (long story) and came across this beautiful bit of poetry from The Bard…
“There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea we are now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.”
What’s this have to do with the writing life? If we’re spending any significant amount of time writing, we have the precious gift of leisure time to pursue this passion (yes, even if that “leisure time” means cutting out a few hours of sleep).
Let’s face it — the vast majority of the human population spends time worrying where the next meal is coming from. Most of the world lacks not only leisure time but also (in many cases) the literacy to write.
We’re blessed. Or, if you will, “lucky”.
We have the time (or make it), we have the talent (and refine it). We have, in other words, a “full sea” upon which we are now afloat.
So let’s use it. Let’s write boldly. Let’s create unashamably. Let’s be weird and fierce and real and prolific.
Life is short (who knows how short) and the time for writing isn’t yesterday, or tomorrow. It’s today. Opportunities must be taken when they are available. Many people (myself included) kick themselves over wasted opportunities.
Had The Bard lived in more modern, bumper-sticker-slogan times, he may have simply written “Use It Or Lose It”.
Or, if he’d been writing for Robin Williams, he might have written “Carpe Diem”.
Or, if he’d been a Marketing major, he’d have reminded us to “Just Do It!”
