Meaning: The phrase “time and tide wait for none” means “no matter how powerful a person is, he cannot stop the passage of time.”
It highlights the fact that human beings has no control over the laws of nature and the passing of time. Human-beings should:
- make the best use of his time,
- perform duties withing the allotted time,
- never procrastinate or delay in doing things on time,
- act quickly and decisively before the lapse of the opportunity.
Explanation: The value of time is inestimable. Life is, but a collection of moments, which we must not waste. We shorten our life whenever we kill time. Time and tide wait for none.
A person of sound health may delay the things for tomorrow. However, if for any reason he is not able to do his task the next day, then the work may suffer badly.
A child takes birth as a small baby. A baby grows into a child, child into teens, teens into an adult, and an adult become old. The law of nature is the supreme. Time keeps flowing. Human beings, whether like it or not, cannot stop these laws. No one can stop the passage of time. The movement of water in a river flows forever. All these things are beyond human control.
We should make a good use of time. We should perform our duties just at the right moment. Many and varied are our duties, and we cannot discharge them well unless we do our duty at the right moment. Some people waste their time by indulging in idle gossips that have no real importance in life.
There are again, other people who work from morning until night. They prosper in life and such people never complain of want of time. Such people can be relied on for doing much for others as well as for themselves.
The good effects of utilization of time: Many are the good effects of the proper utilization of time. A man who is busy doing his duties remain free from many unnecessary worries. The leisure he enjoys after doing his allotted work also adds to his happiness. He enjoys sound sleep at night and wakes in the morning with fresh vigor to do further work. All great achievements of great men were the results of steady work spread over days and months of a year and sometimes years together.
Examples: Examples of a proper utilization of time can be had from the activities of lower animals and insects.
- The bee is very busy.
- The ant is proverbially busy gathering food against the rainy season.
- The birds are never idle. They collect food from the early hours of the morning.
The water of a river travels long distances before it empties itself into the ocean or sea. Similarly, a man or women should not sit idle, but remain in a state of flow, just like the flowing water. During his youth, when he gets ample time and opportunity, he should never waste a moment, and do such thing that benefits him, his family and the society.
Conclusion: Time and tide wait for no man. Hence, people should not sit idle. They should do such activities that are beneficial for humankind.