If I were to give you $86,400 today — with the stipulation that you had to spend it all by midnight or lose the rest — what would you do with it? What would you buy? Would you donate any? To who or what organization?
Now, imagine I give you $86,400 every day for the rest of your life — again, with the stipulation you lose if it it’s not spent. Now what do you do?
Take a couple minutes before you read the rest of this blog entry to think about your answers.
(Imagine the final Jeopardy song playing, and then read on.)
What would I do? I’d put a downpayment on an off-the grid, self-sustaining home, give to charities and give anonymously to some people I know in need.
Ironically, this example is a great analogy about how we live our lives. Every day, we’re all given the same 86,400 seconds. What we don’t get done, we lose.
If you look back at the last 86,400 seconds, what did you do? What did you mean to do and not get done? Those things were lost for the day.
But today’s another 86,400 seconds…all of which you can only live one at a time. What are you doing? What do want to do? What if I told you you would only have another 86,400 to spend? What would you do then?
I believe I’d spend time with my family, making amends, if necessary, and saying how much I love them. What would you do?
None of us knows how much time we have left. It could be 50 years or 50 seconds. The present is the only thing we have. The present is the only time we can let our family and friends know how much they mean to us and how much we appreciate them.
What will you do with the next 86,400 seconds?