We spend two things every day:
money and time.
Funny thing is,
we worry a hell of a lot more
about running out of money.
We check the bank account.
We watch what's coming in,
what's going out,
and what we're wasting.
But time?
We spend that like we're rich.
I once knew someone
who never had time for a walk.
Too much cleaning.
Too much work.
Too many things that had to get done.
An hour walking
was an hour she couldn't spare.
Yet she worried about her weight.
Worried about her health.
Worried about getting older.
And it made me wonder:
What if that hour wasn't spent?
What if it was invested?
Because an hour walking today
might buy you another healthy day later.
It might buy you stronger legs at seventy,
the strength to climb the stairs at eighty,
another morning outside,
another trip,
another sunrise you get to stand beneath.
It might even buy you
the dignity of wiping your own ass
without having to ask somebody else
to do it for you.
And laugh if you want,
but that's the kind of thing
you don't think about
until you can't do it anymore.
It might buy you years.
But more importantly,
it might make those years
worth having.
That's a pretty damn good return
on sixty minutes.
Money works the same way.
Spend everything on things
that give you nothing back,
and eventually you're broke.
But put some of it toward something
that saves you money,
makes you money,
or simply makes your life better,
and that money wasn't wasted.
It was invested.
Time has compound interest too.
An hour spent exercising.
An hour with someone you love.
An hour learning something.
An hour building something.
An hour helping somebody
who can never pay you back.
A little time talking with God,
giving thanks,
asking for direction,
or simply listening.
Those aren't hours lost.
They're investments.
And maybe that's what we're missing.
We're always saying,
"I don't have the money."
"I don't have the time."
"I'll exercise tomorrow."
"I'll call them next week."
"I'll get around to it someday."
But someday has a habit
of becoming never.
Life doesn't suddenly stop
and hand you a quiet afternoon
to become the person
you've been meaning to become.
Sometimes we have the time.
We've just already spent it
on something else.
The difference is,
I can look at my bank account
and see exactly what's left.
I can't do that with my life.
There's no statement in the mail
telling me I've got
twenty-three years,
four months,
six days
and eleven hours remaining.
I don't know my balance.
Neither do you.
All we know
is that every morning we wake up,
another day
has been placed in our hands.
And immediately
we start spending it.
So spend some on pleasure.
Waste a little.
Laugh.
Pet a dog.
Watch a sunset.
Do absolutely nothing sometimes.
Life isn't supposed to be
one long investment portfolio.
But invest some of it too.
Invest in your body
so it can carry you
as long as possible.
Invest in your mind
so you never stop growing.
Invest in people
while they're still here
to know that you loved them.
Invest in your faith
and the things that give your life meaning.
Invest your money
in things that make tomorrow
a little easier.
And invest your time
in things that make tomorrow
worth reaching.
Because money spent foolishly
can leave you broke.
And time spent foolishly
can leave you with something worse:
years you didn't have to lose,
or years you still have
but can no longer enjoy.
That's the part
we don't think about enough.
Living longer is one thing.
Living better
for as long as you're here
is another.
Because someday
the money account may be full,
and the time account
will hit zero.
You might leave money behind.
But you won't leave
a single unused minute.
So maybe the question isn't
how much money did I make,
or even
how long did I live?
Maybe the better question is:
Did I invest what I had
in making the life I was given
worth living?
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