It
comes as no surprise to any of my readers that I am the kind of person
who enjoys stories which are inspiring and heart-warming, especially
when those stories provide me with a real thought-provoking lesson about
life. What I am about to share with you is one of those stories that I
think I will always cherish. In fact, I think it is one that I will cut
out and put somewhere out in to open so that I read it every day.
One
Saturday morning Jim was listening to the radio when he heard an older
sounding chap with a golden voice. He was talking about a thousand
marbles to someone named Tom.
“Well
Tom”, the older gentleman began, “It sure sounds like you’re busy
with your job. I’m sure they pay you well, but it’s a shame you have
to be away from home and your family so much. It’s hard to believe
anybody should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends
meet. Let me tell you something, Tom. Something that has helped me keep
a good perspective on my own priorities. You see, I sat down one day and
did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about 75 years. I
know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live
about 75 years. Now, then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with
3900 which is the number of Saturdays the average person has in their
entire lifetime. It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think
about all this in any detail, and by that time I had lived through over
2800 Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be 75, I only had
about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and
bought every single marble they had. I ended up with 1000 marbles. I
took them home and put them inside a large clear plastic container next
to the radio. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and
thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused
more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like
watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your
priorities straight. Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign
off and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the
very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next
Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing
we can all use is a little more time. It was nice talking to you, Tom. I
hope you spend more time with your loved ones and I hope to meet you
again someday. Have a good morning.”
You
could hear a pin drop when he finished. Even the show’s moderator
didn’t have anything to say for a few moments. The old man gave
everyone a lot to think about.
Jim
had planned to do some work that morning, then go to the gym. Instead,
he went upstairs and woke up his wife with a kiss.
“Come
on, honey, I’m taking you and the kids to breakfast,” Jim said.
“What
brought this on?” she asked with a smile.
“Oh,
nothing special. It’s just been a long time since we spent a Saturday
together with the kids,” explained Jim. “Hey, can we stop at a toy
store while we’re out? I need to buy some marbles.”
I’m
not sure what I can say to comment on this story. The message is quite
clear. When you look at life as a container of marbles you think you
have a lot of them to spare, but when that container starts to go down,
it sure puts things in perspective.
Take
a few moments to think about the marbles you have left in your
container. As you throw one away every Saturday, ask yourself if you are
using your marbles wisely.
Have
a good week.