In a classroom full of students, a professor asks:
Let’s suppose that you had $86,400 and someone stole $10 from you, would you throw away the remaining $86,390 that you still have and try and get your $10 back? Or would you just let it go?
All of the students said that they would let it go.
Then the professor told them this…everyone has 86,4000 seconds to live every single day and this time is far more valuable than money. You can always work for more money, but once a second passes, you can never get it back. Every time someone upsets us, it probably took 10 seconds, so why do we throw away the other 86, 390 worrying or being upset about it?
Occasionally, we all make this mistake…so it is time to start learning how to let the little things go and focus on the important things in life.”
I have bad news folks…we are all getting older! Have you ever considered how you want to age as you get older? Will you be someone who finishes your life bitter and crass? Will you be an individual full of regret of the things that you COULD have accomplished? Or will you be gratified and content knowing that you met all of your life’s goals and dreams?
How will you allow your experiences and happenings in your life shape you as the years go on?
I recently found the following poem that I think is a beautiful illustration of someone who has a fantastic goal of the kind of life that they would like to have. I hope that it encourages you.
In today’s world, many people spend many, many hours working hard to earn money that they will need. Unfortunately, many people put so much time and effort into their work that they quite often forget about the important things in life, spending quality time with their family and friends. Today’s story gives us a good reminder for all of us…time is precious. Don’t neglect the time that you should spend with your loved ones.
A man came home from work late again, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door. “Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
“Yeah, sure, what is it?” replied the man.
“Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?”
“That’s none of your business. What makes you ask such a thing?” the man said angrily.
“I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?” pleaded the little boy.
“If you must know, I make $20.00 an hour.”
“Oh,” the little boy replied, head bowed.
Looking up, he said, “Daddy, may I borrow $10.00 please?”
The father was furious. “If the only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is just so you can borrow some to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you’re being so selfish. I work long, hard hours every day and don’t have time for such childish games.”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even madder about the little boy’s questioning. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money. After an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think he may have been a little hard on his son. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10.00 and he really didn’t ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.
“Are you asleep son?” he asked.
“No daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy.
“I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,” said the man.
“It’s been a long day and I took my aggravation out on you. Here’s that $10.00 you asked for.”
The little boy sat straight up, beaming. “Oh, thank you daddy” he yelled.
Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some more crumpled up bills. The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at the man. “Why did you want more money if you already had some? ” the father grumbled.
“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied.
“Daddy, I have $20.00 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?”
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Share $20.00 worth of time with someone you love…just a short reminder to all of us working so hard for our living. However, let us not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some quality time with those who really matter to us.
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The speed and pace of today’s world is absolutely incredible. It seems as though time is flying by quicker and quicker, and we find ourselves with less time to do the things that we once did. The Technology Age, computers, the internet, social media, etc., has made it so that information can be found instantly and at the touch of a button.
Unfortunately, statistics also show us that people are under more stress, have less social skills, and are more out of shape, then ever before. How often do we desire to do something with our loved ones, family or friends…then “put it off”, and never get to do it?
The following poem, “Slow Dance,” written by David Weatherford, is an awesome reminder of the importance of spending our time wisely. Using our limited time here on Earth, to enjoy friendships, the beauty of the world, the joy of life, etc. It is my hope that the following words touch your heart and inspire you to understand the sweet importance of time and how we should use it.
“SLOW DANCE” by DAVID WEATHERFORD
Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round
Or listened to rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight
Or gazed at the sun fading into the night?
You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
Time is short, the music won’t last.
Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask, “How are you?” do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores running through your head?
I always find it sort of strange how fast or slow time can actually go. Sometimes, it can go agonizingly slow, like waiting for a bus or a train at a terminal. There are also some instances when time can speed by us at an incredible rate of speed. My grandma used to always say, “the older you get, the days get longer and the years get shorter”…how true it is!!
Have you ever noticed, as a parent, how fast has gone (or is going)? Sometimes we are so busy with our daily schedules that we can easily get distracted and lose focus on our most important things in our lives…our kids.
We all need to take the time to REALLY spend with our children each and every day. The opportunity we have to strengthen their lives and encourage them is an awesome and beautiful responsibility.
This video is a tremendous example of the wonderful and loving relationship between a dad and his daughter…and yes, you will need a box of tissues!!
There is nothing more beautiful than the love that a child and their parents share with each other. The following video is a great testament to this fact.
I recently saw a short list of some “Rules of Life” compiled by Whisper of the Heart, that I found interesting and served as good reminders on how to keep life simple and enjoyable. I hope that these simple rules will help you look at life in a simpler and healthier way.
Seven Rules of Life
Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up your present.
2. What other think of you is none of your business.
3. Time heals almost everything…give it time.
4. Don’t compare your life to others and don’t judge them. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
5. Stop thinking too much, it’s alright not to know the answers. They will come to you when you least expect it.
6. No one is in charge of your happiness…except you.
7. Smile. You don’t own all the problems in the world.
There are some things in our lives that are more valuable and precious than we know. We need to remember that with some things, the gift or blessings that we are given each day are non-refundable and should be treasured and used to the best of their ability every day!
Imagine there is a bank, which credits your account each morning with $86,400, carries over no balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every penny, of course!
Well, everyone has such a bank. Its name is Time.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back. There is no drawing against the “tomorrow.”
Therefore, there is never, not enough time or too much time. Time management is decided by us alone and nobody else. It is never the case of us not having enough time to do things, but the case of whether we want to do it.
Time…it is a valuable thing to all of us. The thing that is unlike anything else about time, is that once you experience each small sliver of time or once it is upon you, you can never get it back. You can never buy back time or get a “do-over.”
It is for these reasons that we should all value each bit of time that we have each day. We shouldn’t use our time foolishly or waste it worrying about things that may never happen or dwell on the negative things in life.
We should always focus on living our lives and spending our time with others with one thought: no regrets. I think one of the worst things that a lot of people do is look back on their lives and regret the times or things that they did or didn’t do with someone.
So, when I discovered today’s video, it not only made me a little misty-eyed, but it also reminded me of the importance of time…how we spend it with ourselves and more importantly…how we spend it with our family and friends.
One word of warning…a box of tissues may be needed 🙂
Every once in a while I come across an article that makes me stop and think. In this case, I read an article on dobhran.com which made me ponder…exactly what do I do with the time that is given to me each day? After reading the following essay, I trust that it will allow you to step back and contemplate what you are doing with your gift of time.
Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course!
Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every morning credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day.
If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the “tomorrow”. You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today.
To realize the value of ONE YEAR,
ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH,
ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK,
ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR,
ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE,
ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND,
ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND,
ask the person who won a medal in the Olympics.
Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time. And remember that time waits for no one.
Treasure your friends.
Treasure your family.
Treasure God.
Treasure all the love in your life every minute of every day.
This life will be over before you know it!
There are some times in our everyday lives that we become so busy with things like work or our careers, that we can quite often spend less time with the things that are really important. Today’s story gives us a great illustration of this life principle.
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SON: “Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
DAD: “Yeah sure, what is it?”
SON: “Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”
DAD: “That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?”
SON: “I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?”
DAD: “If you must know, I make $100 an hour.”
SON: “Oh! (With his head down).
SON: “Daddy, may I please borrow $50?”
The father was furious.
DAD: “If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard every day for such this childish behavior.”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think:
Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $ 50 and he really didn’t ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.
DAD: “Are you asleep, son?”
SON: “No daddy, I’m awake”.
DAD: “I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier. It’s been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here’s the $50 you asked for.”
The little boy sat straight up, smiling.
SON: “Oh, thank you daddy!”
Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
DAD: “Why do you want more money if you already have some?”
SON: “Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do.
“Daddy, I have $100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.”
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness. It’s just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $100 worth of your time with someone you love? If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family and friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family.
