Time to live.

• Author: Nissan, Rosa
• Position: LATITUDES - Like a Bride/Like a Mother - Excerpt - Brief article

One day, the rabbi told a story.

The time had finally arrived when it was possible to give a man his only opportunity in life to go up in a rocket, but only for two hours. His family and friends encouraged him to take advantage of it, so that when he came back he could tell everyone what he had seen, what he had felt, and how much he had enjoyed it.

Once inside the rocket, he pressed a button and felt his seat move forward; then he pressed another button and it went backward. Hey, this was great! So he pressed another button, and a bell sounded; another, and some lights started flashing; another, and he went forward again, and then backward. He was having a ball!

But suddenly, they interrupted him: his two hours were over.

"What? We haven't even taken off yet! I still want to fly."

"No! Get out! Right now! You had your chance just like the others, but you wasted your time pressing buttons and pulling levers. By playing with all that glitters, you've prevented yourself from taking that desired and unrepeatable trip called life. There is no second chance. Your time is up."

I guess we fill our lives with distractions instead of taking...