---A person asked, "What surprises you most about mankind?" ---It was answered, "*That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again. *That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health. *That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future. *That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived" ---Then the person asked, "As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?" ---It was answered, "*To learn that they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is to let themselves be loved. *To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but whom they have in their lives. *To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. All will be judged individually on their own merits, not as a group on a comparison basis. *To learn that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least. *To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them. *To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness. To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings. *To learn that money can buy everything but happiness. *To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it totally differently. *To learn that a true friend is someone who knows everything about them... and likes them anyway. *To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they have to forgive themselves."

This reminds me of a couple of hadith:

*The Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam was reported to have said, "There are two blessings in which people are cheated: health and leisure time." [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book 81, Chapter 1, Hadith No. 6412, p. 1232.]

*The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam), used to call on Muslims to take the initiative to do good deeds before any obstacles arise. For instance, he said, "Lose no time to do good deeds before you are caught up by one of seven calamities awaiting you: a starvation which may impair your wisdom; a prosperity which may mislead you; an ailment which may damage your health; an old age which may harm your senses; a sudden death; the Dajjal (Antichrist); or Doomsday, which is indeed the hardest and most bitter." [at-Tirmidhi, al-Baihaqi]

*The Prophet saallahu alahi wasallam said: "Grab five things before five others: your youth before your decrepitude, your health before your illness, your wealth before your poverty, your leisure before your work, and your life before your death." [Al-Hakim, “Al-Mustadrak”, Book No. 44, 4/341]

Something to ponder on ; ]