Safe Harbour
on Both Sides
A man was boarding a boat to begin a sea journey. As he was departing, his Western friend said to him:
Today, you are beginning your journey on a calm sea. However, remember that the weather will not always be smooth. Sometimes storms will come your way. You will have to face them and carry on. Never lose hope: A safe harbour awaits you, both at the start and the end of your voyage.
These few words express a deep truth about life.
A person moves forward toward a goal. If he fails to reach it, he often loses courage. He considers one failure to be a total failure. He thinks his journey has ended forever. But he forgets—even if he returns to his earlier position, he is not a failure.
It was his earlier success that gave him the opportunity to board the boat and set out on the journey. So, if he returns to that same earlier position, where is the defeat in that?
Just like a river has banks on both sides, life too offers two options:
If you cannot reach the bank ahead, you can always return to the bank behind—and you will still find a shore. This is how life works. In this journey, there are two safe harbours: one ahead, which you aim to reach, and one behind, from where you started.
If you fail to reach the destination, go back—because even there, a safe harbour awaits you.
The truth is that a person always exists between two possibilities. But most people make the mistake of thinking that if one possibility is lost, everything is lost.
Someone once said, “The same sun that rose yesterday will rise again tomorrow.”
Rather than mourning what is lost, it is far better to use the time that is coming. Unfortunately, very few people follow this wisdom.
There was a student who had passed the tenth grade. Later, he appeared for the eleventh-grade exam—and failed. That single failure hit him so hard that he committed suicide.
He forgot that even if he couldn’t climb the eleventh step, he still had his feet firmly on the tenth step. If he had simply turned back, he could have found work or built a career as a tenth-pass student. Or, he could have tried again and passed the exam the next time with more preparation.
But disappointment blinded him. He focused only on the next shore—and forgot that there was also a shore behind him.
If he had just looked back, he would have seen that a safe harbour was still waiting. But he looked only ahead—not behind. And standing at the edge of life, he deprived himself of life itself.
Failures come in every person’s life. And it is natural to feel shocked or regretful when failure strikes. In fact, realising one’s mistakes can be a good sign—if it leads to a fresh and better effort.
But if that feeling of failure turns only into sorrow and self-destruction, then it becomes a greater failure than the first one.
Remember:
The one who hasn’t yet failed hasn’t truly entered life.
And the one who, after failing, only collects pain and regret—even if life gives him another chance, he loses it again.
Palmer once said something very true:
“To be sorry without taking steps for correction is like removing water from a boat without plugging the hole.”
Why Time Matters
A man once joined the army as an ordinary soldier. Later, he was promoted and became a high-ranking officer. While sharing his life experience, he said:
“The reason for my fast progress in the army was just this habit of mine—if I had to report for duty at 10 o’clock, I would be ready by 9.”
At first glance, this might seem like a small thing. But in truth, it is a very important principle. This is one of the secrets behind success: valuing time.
Time holds great importance in life. The more punctual a person is, the more they progress.
In fact, the only way to avoid many failures and problems is to stop wasting time.
Someone rightly said, “Try to reach the station before time, and your train will never leave without you.”
Imagine you have to catch a train that departs at 10:03. The journey from your home to the station takes 30 minutes. If you leave just five minutes before the train time, thinking, “There’s no need to go early,” then any unexpected delay—traffic, weather, or some other obstacle—could make your 30-minute journey take 40 or 50 minutes. And you miss your train.
But the one who sets out early never misses the train. The person who aims to arrive exactly on time often ends up hearing: “The train has already left.”
Punctuality isn’t just about being on time—it reflects preparedness, discipline, and quick thinking.
Only those who are sensitive about time can prove themselves efficient. Those who prepare early are the ones who arrive on time. Those who start getting ready at the last minute are always late—and such people are often left behind.
In this world, no person has full control over everything. There will always be unpredictable situations—often caused by others. You may plan something, but something entirely different happens.
That’s why the only reliable way to be on time is to start preparing a little early.
When making a plan, always include extra time for potential delays.
This little piece of wisdom can help you avoid many unnecessary interruptions.
Otherwise, Edward R. Murrow’s words may become true for you: “Difficulty is an excuse which history never accepts.”
Many people fail to complete important work—and then say, “What could I do? I didn’t have time.”
But that lack of time was caused by earlier misuse of time.
A shortage of time is always the cost of wasted time.
Dr. Brewer put it perfectly: “Those who misuse time the most are the ones who complain the most about not having enough of it.”
All India Radio, New Delhi,
11-12 March 1982.
