Keep focused on the important things in life
Have you ever stopped to think about what’s really important in life?
Material
things may bring us momentary pleasure but they can’t replace our life
experiences.
There
isn’t a thing in this world that can’t be taken from you in an instant. A
house, car, relationships, special treasures – all those things can be
destroyed in a heartbeat. Even the next hour of your life is not promised. For
the sake of argument, I want to move forward though as if we will all live
long, full lives.
I first
began thinking of these things in my teenage years as I was learning about my
Christian faith. It was pretty heady stuff for a young person to contemplate
and it’s still hard to wrap my head around now in my 50s. The Bible makes it
clear that nothing we have in this life carries over to the next. The only true
thing of value is our relationship with Jesus Christ. I say that because I
believe it. I’m not here to proselytize (OK, maybe I am just a little), but I believe
that a relationship with Jesus is the only way to Heaven and eternal life.
I also know
that it is in my nature to be a greedy, little packrat. I like getting things
and I generally hold onto them. I call it collecting. Others, including my
wife, call it junk. I have saved really odd stuff, such as nearly every press
pass I’ve been given and all the flip cards (cards with brief information about
players) from every professional football game I have covered. I’ve saved a bunch
of the newspapers that I’ve been published in, which takes up a lot of space. I
have many boxes of photos and negatives from my early days in photography and more
recent stacks of discs with digital pictures in storage.
The
point is, I have a lot of stuff (or does it have me?). Most of it has no
intrinsic value to anyone but me, and maybe some historian a couple hundreds of
years in the future. It’s sentimental clutter and I should get rid of a lot of
it. I won’t. It’s worth the sentimental value to me. Most of the things I’ve
saved are reminders of great experiences I’ve had. The objects themselves have
no real value but the memories are priceless.
And
it’s the memories – the thrill and joy of the experience – that no one can ever
take away from you. You can be stripped of everything you own but no one can
take away from you the things you have done. The places you go and the things
you see and do are yours forever as long as you remember them. It’s when we
lose our memories that we lose the things we treasure the most. I have a loved
one very close to me with Alzheimer’s disease. While the things he owns are
important and have value, his most prized possession – his mind – is slowly
vanishing.
It’s
incredibly heartbreaking to watch. I can only imagine what it’s like to
experience it. I pray every day for him and hold out hope that a cure for all
forms of dementia is found sooner than later.
If you
don’t have your memories, what do you have? There may come a day when all the
trinkets of my life are all I have to serve a memory triggers or proof of
things I’ve done. There is no way any of them will have monetary value until
they are old enough to become historic artifacts. By that time, I won’t benefit
from them and I highlight doubt my children and grandchildren will hold on to
them long enough for that to happen.
So, for
me, the stuff I have is valuable and it gives me pleasure. At the same time, I
can’t help but wonder what all this stuff is robbing from me. The time I spend
packing and storing it, and taking it out and reminiscing over it, is time I
could be spending on something better. I choose not to think of it as a time
thief, but rather as a time reminder.
All of
this rambling brings me back to my original point: What is really important in
life? The answer is this: Living life to its fullest. Enjoy time with your
family and friends. Engage in experiences that make you happy and push your
limits. Be in the moment. Don’t let life pass you by. This is the only life you
get here on Earth.
That
being said, don’t be self-absorbed or narcissistic. The best that you can be is
what you give to others. As Zig Ziglar used to say, “You can get everything in
life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
What
you give comes back to you many times over. Put God first. Heavily invest your
time and treasure in your spouse and children. Be generous to others. In doing
so you create close relationships and great memories. You will enjoy the best
that this life has to give.
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