Earlville High School - Raidorian Our Years Yearbook (Earlville, IL)

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The Time Is Now Rich gift of God—a year of time. This famous line by our great American poet—John Greenleaf Whittier--is often used as an introduction to the calendar for a new year. Just the thought of a new year gives us a psychological lift. We draw a line between the old and the new — the past and the future. We make resolutions. We look forward to a new way of life that we hope will be better than the old. It is a period of self-renewal. This thought may be momentarily beneficial as we take the first step forward. But, do we stop to consider the component parts of a year—be it new or old? A calendar year is a portion and pattern of time designed by man for his convenience in business and social affairs. It is arranged in months, weeks, days. But, to the individual, time is dealt out, not in these larger portions, but in hours, minutes, and seconds. Basically, all we have is now. The present moment is all that is ours. What are we going to do with it? This time like all times is a very good time if we but know what to do with it, said Ralph Waldo Emerson. From the great storehouse of Benjamin Franklin's wisdom, we have these gems to consider. Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of. Remember that time is money. Also— Lost time is never found again. Anne Morrow Lindbergh made this astute observation as she was flying with her famous husband-- Lost time was like a run in a stocking. It always got worse. If we are to build strong character, we must make use of the time that is now. It will soon be too late. The story is told of a young mother who attended a lecture on child training. At the close of the meeting, she went to the speaker and asked when she should begin training her child. How old is your little boy? asked the lecturer. Four years, the mother replied. Hurry home, he said. You are already four years too late. Let us make haste to live, since every day to a wise man is a new life, wrote the Roman philosopher, Seneca. And, The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step —comes to us from the Orient. What habits, then, are we going to establish as a foundation for the kind of character we want to build? Let us consider a few. Some we must include are habits of honesty, industry, promptness, courtesy, enthusiasm, cheerfulness, humility, kindness. There are others, but these are indispensable. We must begin now. Then, you may ask, What influences will direct our lives along the right paths that will assist in developing these hab- its? There can be no greater influences in any young person's life than good people and great books. Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man, wrote Sir Francis Bacon. He also observed-- Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. The wise reader becomes an eclectic--he can distinguish and choose. Keep always with you, wherever your course may lie, the company of great thoughts, wrote H.H. Asquith. Good books impart great thoughts. Another avenue that opens to us opportunity for beauty and growth is music. There is no truer truth obtainable by man than comes from music. Robert Browning believed. We can enjoy rhythm, harmony, and melody without being pro- found students of the art. All we need is the desire to listen and learn.