Tomorrow May Be Too Late

by: James Howard, Director

Missouri Lawyers' Assistance Program

The wind one brilliant day called

to my soul with an odor of jasmine

The wind said, “In return for the odor of my

jasmine,

I’d like all the odor of your roses.”

[Machado said,] “I have no roses; all the

flowers

in my garden are dead…”

The wind said, “Then, I’ll take

the withered petals, and the yellow leaves,”

and the wind left. And I wept. And I said to

myself,

“What have you done with the garden that was

entrusted to you?”

-Antonio Machado

Looking back over my life from time to time, I have asked myself, “What have you done with your garden?” The question speaks to the way we have or have not taken advantage of our opportunities to live our lives in a focused, fulfilling way.

It seems to me that it is important to identify what and who are important in my life. In other words, what am I really passionate about?

The next step is to thoughtfully review how I allocate my time and energy. The lost opportunity is the gap between what I say is important to me, and the time and energy I direct toward that end.

My experience is that a well balanced, fulfilled lawyer is one that adequately closes this gap. Virtually everything this person does supports what he or she is passionate about in life.

In summary, find your passion and focus your energy and time in that direction. Don’t wait for better times, or when you have more time. We may not be here tomorrow.