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Newsletter Archive |
2
Treat Every Day Like A Gift
The author of this story, Jeff Davis, has given us something to think about all year round, but
especially during the holiday season.
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it’s the quiet solitude that comes with
being the first to rise, or maybe it’s the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the
first few hours of a Saturday morning are the most enjoyable for me.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the kitchen with a
steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in
the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned
into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from
time to time. Let me tell you about it.
I turned the volume up on my radio in order to listen to a
Saturday morning talk show. I heard an older-sounding man
with a golden voice. You know the kind – like he should be
in the broadcasting business himself. He was talking about “a thousand marbles” to someone
named Tom. I was intrigued and sat down to listen to what he had to say. “Well, Tom, 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. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work 60
or 70 hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter’s dance recital.”
He continued, “Let me tell you something, Tom, that has helped me keep a good perspective on my
own priorities.” And that’s when he began to explain his theory of a “thousand marbles.”
“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.
“So, 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. Now stick with me Tom, I’m getting to the important
part.
“It took me until I was 55 years old to think about all this in any detail,” he went on, “and by that
time I had lived through over 2800 Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be 75, I had only
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 having to visit three
toy stores to round up a thousand marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear
plastic container right here in my workshop next to the radio. Every Saturday since then, I’ve 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.
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