Tavern History

July 21st, 2011 | Creative Pursuit, Inspiration

The Most Precious Gift.

precious-gift-time.jpg

Those who know me well have heard me say this time and time and again. The most precious gift you can give anyone is your time. Likewise, time is the most precious thing someone can give you.

Simple, right? Yet sometimes the idea and value of giving and receiving time is forgotten or unrecognized. Think about it.

Of all the things you value in life virtually everything, within reason, is unlimited. You can always make more money, buy more flowers or get more food, wine or followers or friends on Twitter or Facebook. But time? It’s a rare gem that should be coddled and used wisely.

Nobody has a crystal ball. But if you live beyond 80 years old, you’ll have lived about 30,000 days, or abut 700,000 hours. That’s it.

No need to dwell about this, it’s a simple fact. And it’s a reminder that when you’re fretting about finding the right gift for a loved one, or trying to figure out just what to give your team, assistant or staff for a holiday or birthday, think about giving them the most precious gift you have: your time.

Do think they would appreciate your time more than a bouquet of flowers, box of chocolates or, good lord, a gift card? When a friend is down or in need would a phone call or get together over coffee or a drink be better than a sympathy card or an email? Think about it.

It’s about time. And it’s about time we all recognize and share our most precious gifts.

Take the time and make the time. You can.

  • Gerry Holland

    Casper,

    Bravo! Well said. Perhaps this is why the sage among us say that youthis wasted on the young or that we should live our lives in reverse. On that last bit, living our lives in reverse, I’m not so sure I’d want to do it that way. In some respects it would be great to have known “then” what I know now, but with it might come some sadness or regret in knowing loss or want or need when one is just starting out in this world.

    Time is indeed precious. Time is the rarest of commoidities. In fact, it is the one commodity that can’t be traded. It can be wasted. It can be shared..but in the end we can never truly give it to others. We can however, give of ourselves to others and that is time well spent.

    Hope all is well with you.

    Best,
    Gerry

  • John Kerr

    How timely. I spent the past few weeks on the road. The first week was with my mother, in Houston, where she swam at the Senior Games. No medals this time, but we had a lot of time together. The week after that, my sister joined us in California, and my brother and his family came down from Seattle. We stayed with a cousin and visited an uncle I haven’t seen in 10 years. Lots of time with people. Lots of listening. Not too much blathering of my own.
    Then this last week, my wife and I were together for a week, driving to North Carolina and back for a five day weekend with more cousins and a different uncle. I got nothing of my own done, which was what made a vacation. I’m sorry I didn’t realize it until I got home.
    Good points Allan. Same for Gerry.
    Might be hard to get back into the rhythm of things if I just listen to people, but maybe that is what retirement should be about.

  • http://www.worldrider.com Allan

    @Gerry… great points, very great points and thanks for sharing. Giving ourselves to others is exactly the point. Great stuff and all is well

    @John – SO nice when you can spend time with family, it’s a rich and rewarding time. Not only is listening the good thing to do but it maybe be helping with your own particular insight, experience or passion and sharing of yourself in this way. So it’s all good and retirement will be a synergy of all such things and more — congrats!!!

  • http://www.robbinsinteractive.com Stephanie Robbins

    Thanks for the post Allan. I think of this subject regularly with my little ones. Right now nothing makes them happier than simple one on one time. Yet some times I feel I need to make a ‘treat’ food or material. I need to encourage the simple joy of time so their appreciation grows with their age.

  • http://www.worldrider.com Allan

    @Stephanie THanks for your comment and you’re right, balance between what our children and need and what they think they want is always push/pull. We want our kids to have everything they want, but we also want them to grow up with a foundation of strong values and morals and sounds like they are getting it!!!

  • Angie

    Well done once again AK… Time is our special gift to others and our special gift to ourselves… Some need to give more time to others, some need to give more time to themselves… We all know what way the gift needs to be shared at different times in our lives…. Thanks for your thoughts… You are a great teacher to me in many ways Allan Karl :-)

  • http://avenueofthegiants.net Johnny A

    Well thanks Allan… its nice to know that SOMEBODY knows what time it is. But what about a post card, that offers sympathy to those not spending time with you traveling abroad? ie: “wish you were here”.

  • http://www.worldrider.com Allan

    Yes Johnny A, a postcard from abroad, a real physical printed postcard that includes a real, physical and unique stamp that one took the TIME to get, write and send is a very nice gesture. Not an email, text or ‘poke’ — postcards are still very relevant, IMHO, because your postcard would likely end up on someone’s fridge, bulletin board and taped to a computer monitor–things that emails, texts or face books cannot!

  • Jason

    “Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless…” – Brandon Lee, 1993

    [WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ’0 which is not a hashcash value.

  • Jason

    Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless…” – Brandon Lee, 1993

  • Jason

    ^or if you prefer, a passage from The Sheltering Sky, by Paul Bowles in 1949. It just seemed much more poignant from Brandon, as he quoted it just before his death.

  • http://www.worldrider.com Allan

    @Jason – Great quote and apropos for this conversation – especially relating it to Brandon and his very short life. thanks for sharing.