Sands of time (idiom)

"While it is well enough to leave footprints on the sands of time, it is even more important to make sure they point in a commendable direction."

"Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of Our Lives."

"Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time"

"Surely in a matter of this kind we should endeavor to do something, that we may say that we have not lived in vain, that we may leave some impress of ourselves on the sands of time."