Time and Words

What do time and words have in common? It may seem absurd to link them, but I personally think that they share two important characteristics.

One is that both of them are fair. There aren't too many things in this world fair. Time, for one, is fair to everyone, be them the haves or the have nots, be them the smart ones or the dull ones, be them the young guns or the old folks, all of us is entitled 24 hours per day indiscriminately, no more or no less. The only difference is how do we use it. Words, on the other hand, is also fair to everyone, all of us is free to create it to exert our freedom of speech and express ourselves. While authority have their powerful propaganda machine to disseminate official news, common people like us also have different ways to voice out our dissent and disobedience, often by using humorous metaphor. Not to mention that foundation of modern justice is based on laws - a complex vortex of words. Although the barrier to learn, improve and master a language do exist, but it is one of the easiest barrier to overcome, with efforts purely is enough, unless unfortunately you are born with dyslexia or similar symptom. Gratefully, most of us do not suffer from this, so words is still fair to most of us.

The second common trait that they share is their revealing power. As the famous Latin saying goes, TEMPUS OMNIA REVELAT, which means time reveals all things. Nothing can be hidden forever and time is the most powerful arbiter, ideally. (The world is nonetheless imperfect and hence I have to put in this extra word cautiously, but having said so, I do have faith in this principle, in most of the aspects. I just don't want to be too disheartened if this principle want to play hide and seek sometimes). Words, similarly, can reveal most of the masks, various kind of masks. From the classic Aesop fables, "fine clothes may disguise, but silly words will disclose a fool", tell us much about it. Lie will not last but truth will be uncovered, ideally also. (White lie is not a lie, and some lies are necessary to survive.) To be a perfect liar, you need to have perfect memory, and luckily most of us are not granted this super ability.

Both time and words seem like a twin of natural sage, unconditionally guiding us towards a better path. Do you appreciate them?

P/S： Popping out from my mind after writing paragraphs above, the third commonality is that both heal our souls. Is it equally important as the former both traits? I am too lazy to think now.