Benjamin Franklin once said, "You may delay, but time will not." This is a valid statement in that time will never cease. An irrevocable hourglass in the sky that cannot ever be reached or seen marks the passing of time. Salvador Dali's Persistence of Memory gives an interesting perspective on this fact. It shows how time can slip away, and how "could have beens, should have beens, and would have beens" are often prominent regrets for those who practice procrastination.
The foreground of Dali's painting shows a dark, arid land, which includes clocks that seem to be limp and transient. Time is slipping away and everything else is motionless. The painting also includes an odd, unknown animal that lies there seemingly lifeless with one of the melting clocks on its back. Some critics say this is Dali himself. This scene portrays a sense of defeat for the creature, as if time has taken over. In the background, there exists a totally opposite situation; it is brilliantly lit, with an ocean and mountains, which makes it seem like a sublime place-a dreamy paradise. From this, one may gather that the creature is in some sort of low point in life and has run out of time trying to get to the intended "happy place." The situation displayed is a race, and the opponent is time. In this particular case, time emerges the victor. These unfortunate circumstances haunt many people who have high goals and expectations but produce low effort output for the intended results. These people don't realize time is really of the essence.
Everybody has a certain amount of time in life to do with as they please. Time is limited and different for everybody. Early in life, a person doesn't realize what he or she wants. Then he or she achieves a level of happiness. After this, a person works his or her way up until that person is really happy. At this point, the person does not need anything else from life and has lived it to the fullest.