Worthy Character

Once, many years ago, I saw on a classroom wall, a poster with the following legend:

Money lost … Nothing lost

Time lost ... Nothing lost

Character lost … Everything lost

I have never forgotten these words, and I have often thought about them. They have the ring of idealism about them which we associate particularly in the Northern hemisphere with a century that began perhaps in 1840 and ended in 1939. In the literature of Northern America, Europe and Asia, you find these kinds of moralizing sentiments spoken by characters that embody these ideals in most novels and plays of that period. They were generally understood tacit agreements which underpinned the lifestyles of families and individuals throughout the society. And yet, nowadays it is very hard to believe that many would agree with such a philosophy. On the contrary, descended from fathers and grandfathers who held those views, reject their forefathers’ principals and began their search for money, the consequence was obvious: more time was lost than ever before. No money-making time of course, but time which people could use to find themselves and learn themselves. Indeed, much was lost, as society became evermore restless and discounted. And as people became more disenchanted, so did many of them turn to the quick fix; theft, embezzlement, cheating the revenue, exploiting the poor in order to become richer, in the hope of finding happiness at last! And for what? Once found out, they lost their good name, their character and their self respect. And if once you lost your self respect, you would then find it difficult ever to be happy again.

So what is the remedy? It lies in the old saying:

Moderation in all things

The day, I found myself quoting Socrates, the greatest lay-teacher history has known and whose words, roughly paraphrased, said: “Let me earn only so much gold as moderate man can bear”. Many have been the religious leaders of the world who have turned their back on excessive wealth and advise their followers to do the same, as a result of which their followers, over many centuries and in many generations, have found a measure of happiness that has sustained and supported them throughout their lives. They have not regretted their decision to make their money be their servant than their master.

Money … You will get by and survive without it.

Time … You have only a limited life span.

Character … For if you lose respect, life is not worth living.

Muhammad Haris Qureshi & Ansar Javed