Q: What do William Shakespeare, Jane Fonda and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius have in common?
A: Not a lot other than they are all cited as being the originators of notable quotes on the subject of being ‘too late’.
Being too late nearly meant that this article did not make its way to the village magazine. Where has the time gone, a few moments ago it was the first of the month and now it is deadline day, maybe I should have taken the opportunity to write this days ago. 
We all put things off and risk being too late. In life, opportunities knock softly, often too softly for us to hear amidst the cacophony of daily existence.
It's a lesson I am all too familiar with. My brother and I drifted apart many years ago and after several years he tried to contact me by text. I always held onto the hope of reconciliation. I intended to respond, I told myself, "One day, I'll reach out. One day, we'll bury the hatchet." But "one day" never came. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. Life got in the way, or rather, I let life get in the way. I convinced myself there would always be more time, more chances to mend fences and bridge the divide between us. Then came the call that shattered my illusion of endless tomorrows.
My brother was gone, snatched away by fate before I could utter the words I'd rehearsed a thousand times in my mind. The regret hit me along with the thoughts of what-if and If-only. It was a harsh wake-up call, a stark reminder of the fragility of time and the importance of seizing opportunities before they vanish forever, or as William would put it:
Better three hours too soon than a minute too late. - William Shakespeare
Not all ‘too lates’ are quite as final, but more often than not, at least in my experience, when we put things off, we miss out and pretty soon we can be comfortable as we are or are reluctant to change and settle for second best, cue Ms Fonda:
It's never too late - never too late to start over, never too late to be happy. - Jane Fonda
The Good Friday story tells of two thieves crucified with Jesus. One of them at the brink of death turns to Jesus. Jesus’ response: “Today you will be with me in paradise”. Within the Vine there are people that grew up in Christian homes, those who didn’t and had not considered God until there teens or twenties and some who were considerably older. Each, no matter what stage of life they were in found a God who accepted them as they were, it is never too late for God.
In the tapestry of life, we are free to do or not do, procrastinate, or act, until it’s too late that is. Let’s not be defined by the regret of what could have been but rather by the courage to seize the moment and make it count. Take note of Marcus:
Tomorrow is nothing, today is too late; the good lived yesterday. Marcus Aurelius.
