I chose this expression, "Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think", made famous in 1949 by the song Enjoy Yourself, with lyrics by Herb Magidson and music by Carl Sigman, not out of mere literary fondness, nor out of simple musical curiosity, but because it conveys, with remarkable simplicity, one of the most solemn truths of human existence. There are phrases that stay with us because they say, in few words, what life itself takes upon itself to confirm. This is one of them. As the years go by, with the losses, the disillusionments, the duties fulfilled, the battles fought, and the unexpected joys, one comes to understand more clearly that time is the only possession that can never be recovered.
This phrase contains a truth of enduring relevance: life passes quickly, often more quickly than human prudence is willing to admit.
We live in a time in which almost everything presents itself as urgent, yet in which not everything turns out to be truly important. We run after commitments, interests, businesses, ambitions, vanities, disputes, and small personal quarrels, forgetting all too often that time does not hold still before our will. The clock asks no permission, does not wait for our convenience, nor does it show mercy toward our postponements.
There is an ancient illusion, deeply rooted in the human spirit: that there will always be time. Time to forgive, time to give thanks, time to visit, time to right an injustice, time to speak a kind word, time to live with greater wholeness. Yet life, as experience and History so often show, does not obey our calendars or our assumptions. The tomorrow we so often invoke as certainty may not arrive with the generosity we expect of it.
The phrase "enjoy life, for it is later than you think" must not, however, be understood as an invitation to frivolity, to unrestrained pleasure, or to moral irresponsibility. Quite the opposite. To enjoy life is to know how to live it with dignity, character, gratitude, and a sense of duty. It does not consist in squandering one's days in passing excesses, but in employing them with intelligence, with elevation of spirit, and with moral conscience.
He truly enjoys life who honors his word, who works with seriousness, who respects his family, who cultivates loyal friendships, who helps his neighbor without turning generosity into spectacle, who knows how to smile without losing his composure, and who understands that existence is not measured only by what one accumulates, but above all by the example one leaves behind.
It is later than we think when we postpone a reconciliation. It is later than we think when we fail to call someone who has grown old waiting for a word from us. It is later than we think when we sacrifice inner peace to pride, to resentment, or to disordered ambition. It is later than we think when we confuse success with vanity, influence with greatness, and notoriety with merit.
Modern society has taught many men to live projected outward: for image, for the opinion of others, for easy applause, and for public approval. Yet real life continues to unfold in simple and essential places: inside the home, at the dinner table, in a sincere conversation, on a quiet walk, in a gesture of kindness, in the fulfillment of a duty, or in the respectful silence before that which is greater than ourselves.
There is no fortune that can buy back lost time. There is no title that can replace a quiet conscience. There is no power that can suspend the passing of the years. Perhaps, then, the greatest wisdom lies in living with firmness, but without hardness; with ambition, but without losing one's soul; with joy, but without forgetting responsibility; with authority, but without ceasing to acknowledge the fragility of the human condition.
To enjoy life is also to understand that not everyone will walk with us to the end. Some people belong only to a chapter of our existence, not to the whole book. Some teach us through their loyalty; others, unfortunately, through their ingratitude. But even those experiences must be put in their proper place.
Life is too brief to be consumed by permanent resentments, sterile disputes, or grievances that add nothing to the dignity of the one who carries them.
There comes a moment when a man must ask himself seriously: am I merely existing, or am I truly living? Am I honoring my principles, or am I merely surviving circumstances? Am I building something worthy of remaining, or am I only feeding the passing noise of the world?
"It is later than you think" is not a threat. It is a warning. It may even be a blessing, if we know how to hear it. It reminds us that every day still granted to us is an opportunity to do better, to love better, to serve better, to give thanks more, and to squander less.
In the end, life will not be measured only by goods accumulated, by positions held, or by victories achieved. It will be measured by the character shown, by the lives touched, by the word kept, and by the serenity with which each of us can look back and say: I did what I ought to have done, while it was granted to me to do it.
So then, enjoy life. But enjoy it with honor, with gratitude, and with purpose. Because, indeed, it is later than many think.
César DePaço
Businessman and Philanthropist
Consul ad honorem of Portugal from 2014 to 2020
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Summit Nutritionals International Inc.®
Founder and Chairman of the Board of The DePaço Foundation
Unwavering Defender of Law Enforcement and Conservative Principles