All We Have Is Now
The short story by Leo Tolstoy called What Men Live By, in Tolstoy fashion reinforces
the idea of priorities.
It's about a shoemaker named Simon and his family. The background is a very poor Russian family that is barely scraping by, and not even making ends meet.
Simon is on his way home from trying to collect money from debtors who are quite a bit like himself. He discovers a naked man in the freezing cold weather, gives him his coat and takes him home.
He doesn't have anything, but he offers the man work—an apprenticeship as it were—mostly for room and board. During the six years that the young, for he was a young man, worked for Simon he spoke little and worked well. He was quiet and introverted.
It is a simple story. At the end it is revealed what is special about the 'young man', where he had come from and his mission. He was being punished and had to learn three things before he would be forgiven.
The first thing he had to learn: What dwells in man. Second thing was: What is not given to man, and third: What men live by.
The second thing, what it is not given to man, he learned when one day a very wealthy man came to the shoemaker's shop to order a special pair of expensive boots. He was a hard man, hot tempered, and very demanding.
The boots were to be made to last him a year, and this and that, and Simon was hesitant to take the work. His helper encouraged him and after taking the gentleman's measure the wealthy man wrapped up in his coat to leave.
As he left however, he forgot to duck, and hit his head very hard on the lintel of the door. He got in his sleigh and the driver left for home.
Simon and his wife exclaimed over how tough the man was, Matrena, Simon's wife finally ending the discussion with, 'Death itself can't touch such a rock as that.'
Of course the apprentice is given the task of making the boots out of the expensive leather for the difficult client. Instead of the boots, the apprentice makes soft slippers. As Simon is agonizing over the thought of being ruined because of the horrible mistake, Simon receives another visitor.
It was the gentleman's servant coming to tell Simon he did not need to make boots. The blow on the man's head from the lintel had caused him to die on his way home, and they needed funeral slippers instead.
So, not wanting to reveal the whole story, which is a very good short story, what the young assistant learned for the second question, what is not given to man was: It is not given to man to know his own needs.
The rich man was making preparation for boots for a whole year, but he wouldn't need them.
We are all prone to looking ahead in the same manner, and in some ways we need to do so. We also should realize no one will cheat death. We will all pass from this life into eternity.
