The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday morning. 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 most enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage 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 dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap
net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know
the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with
something about "a thousand marbles." I was intrigued and stopped 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 sixty or seventy hours a
week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital," he continued; "Let me tell you
something that has helped me keep 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 seventy-five years. I know,
some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.
Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3,900, which is the number of Saturdays that 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 fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail," he went on, "and by that time I had lived
through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, 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 having to
visit three toy stores to round up 1,000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container
right here in the shack next to my gear.
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's 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 with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I
took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that 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 to meet you Tom. I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope
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 most enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage 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 dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap
net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know
the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with
something about "a thousand marbles." I was intrigued and stopped 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 sixty or seventy hours a
week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital," he continued; "Let me tell you
something that has helped me keep 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 seventy-five years. I know,
some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.
Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3,900, which is the number of Saturdays that 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 fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail," he went on, "and by that time I had lived
through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, 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 having to
visit three toy stores to round up 1,000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container
right here in the shack next to my gear.
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's 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 with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I
took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that 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 to meet you Tom. I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope
Prescription for the Year 2011
For a Healthier Body
For a Happier Heart
For a Healthier Body
- Drink plenty of water.
- Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like beggar. Eat more foods that grow on trees and
plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants. - Live with the 3 E's: Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.
- Make time to pray, play more games, and read more books than you did in 2009.
- Don't overdo. Stay within your limits.
- Take a 10 to 30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
- Sleep for 7 hours a night and sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
For a Happier Heart
- Smile and laugh more.
- Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Envy is a waste of time.
You already have all you need. - Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, and don't have negative thoughts about things you can’t
control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment. - No one is in charge of your happiness except you. Don't take yourself so seriously - no one else does.
- Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Forgive everyone for everything. Forget issues of the past.
Make peace with your own past so it won't spoil the present. Don't remind your partner of his mistakes of the
past. That will ruin your present happiness. - Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that
appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime. - Call your family often. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
- Each day give something good to others, and try to make at least three people smile every day.
- Remember: What other people think of you is none of your business.
- Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
- Do the right thing! However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
- God heals everything. When you wake in the morning, thank God for being alive.
- Dream more while you’re awake. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
- No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. The best is yet to come. So don’t worry. Choose to
be happy.
 |
| Thank You, Lord For all these smallnesses I thank You, Lord: small children and small needs; small meals to cook small talk to heed, and a small book from which to read small stories; small hurts to heal, small disappointments, too, as real as ours; small glories to discover in bugs pebbles, flowers. When day is through my mind is small, my strength is gone; and as I gather each dear one I pray, "Bless each for Jesus' sake - such angels sleeping, imps awake!" What wears me out are little things: angels minus shining wings. Forgive me, Lord, if I have whined - it takes so much to keep them shined; yet each small rub has its reward, for they have blessed me. Thank you, Lord. Ruth Bell Graham's Collected Poems |
