Sooner or later there comes a time when human beings take stock of their lives

Sooner or later there comes a time when human beings take stock of their lives. And then, if they are honest they are often obliged to recognize that they have wasted their energy, their health and their beauty on somewhat worthless activities. Of course, they have derived a few advantages from them, but if they put them all on the divine scales, they see that the little they have gained does not compensate for the wealth they have lost. Unfortunately, men and women often make this type of assessment much too late. When they set out on their conquest of money, glory or knowledge, it does not occur to them to assess the losses these pursuits could entail. And even if they are proud to have achieved their goal, a few years later we find them exhausted, physically and mentally ill, having lost their appetite, sleep and joy. Then they realize that what they earned did not justify all this trouble, and they say, ‘If only I had known!’ But it is too late; they should have made this assessment much earlier!