✍️ Riaan M. Odendaal
In ’n oogwink word môre aand.
Maandae word Vrydae.
Maande verdwyn, jare vou in hulleself.
Ons draai om — en dekades is verby.
Ouers is nie meer nie, vriende staan nie meer langs ons nie.
En ons besef te laat:
daar is geen terugspeelknoppie nie.
Laat ons dus nie vermors wat oorbly nie.
Laat ons:
’n oomblik vas hou, al is dit net vir asem
jaag wat werklik tel, met onverdeelde ywer
kleur aan gewone dae toevoeg
die stil geskenke opmerk wat die lewe op ons pad strooi
Pasop vir die strik van “later”:
“Ek sal dit later doen … ek sal dit later sê … ek sal later daaraan dink.”
Asof later gewaarborg is.
Maar koffie koel af.
Prioriteite skuif.
Kinders groei.
Ouers verouder.
Beloftes dun uit.
En die musiek waarvoor ons wou dans, raak stil.
Dikwels kom “later” nooit.
Moet dus niks vir môre oorlaat nie.
Want “eendag” steel meer as wat dit skenk —
tyd saam met geliefdes,
oomblikke wat nie herskep kan word nie,
die lewende teenwoordigheid self.
Vandag is die dag.
Nou is die uur.
Ons het die luuksheid van uitstel ontgroei.
Grýp die hede vas —
dis die enigste tyd wat ons werklik besit.
⏳ The Fleeting Nature of Time
✍️ Riaan M. Odendaal
In the blink of an eye, dawn gives way to dusk.
Mondays blur into Fridays.
Months slip by, years fold in on themselves.
We turn around, and decades have gone —
parents absent, friends no longer beside us.
And we realise too late:
there is no rewind button.
So let us not waste what remains.
Let us:
Hold the moment still, even for a breath
Pursue what matters with undiluted vigour
Add colour to the ordinary day
Notice the quiet gifts life scatters in our path
Beware the trap of “later”:
“I’ll do it later … I’ll say it later … I’ll think about it later.”
As if later is guaranteed.
But coffee cools.
Priorities shift.
Children grow.
Parents age.
Promises thin.
And the music we meant to dance to fades away.
Often, “later” never arrives.
So leave nothing waiting for tomorrow.
For “someday” steals more than it gives —
time with those we love,
moments we cannot recreate,
the very presence of life itself.
Today is the day.
Now is the hour.
We have outgrown the luxury of postponement.
Seize the present —
it is the only time we truly possess.
