We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. -Winston Churchill
Time. Money. Games and toys. Work.
Whatever you decide to give, what will remain true is that you are giving something of yourself. Some part of you is
tied up in all of these. Time is terribly important to us, it's a fleeting commodity, and we are only beginning to
realize as a society that we give it away far too easily. You are paid to be at your job from 8 to 5, and the rest of the time
is yours...except for the time you have to spend on your Blackberry on the ride in to work, dealing with yesterday's
problems. And the time you spend on the phone after you get home at night, putting out a fire half way across the world
where people are only now working their own 8 to 5 shift. And the weekends when you have to head back into the office to
finish the project that you didn't have time to finish by Friday. And the evenings when each child has a different sport
or league or meeting in three different locations.
What does that leave you? A half hour each day? How are you going to spend it?
What if you didn't have that half hour either? What if that was when you were driving to your second job? Or when you
were sitting with your child in the hospital room? Or when you are out looking for more work, or when you're sorting through
your destroyed belongings, trying to salvage what you can? Time is important, but one thing is certain: a half hour spent
helping people who don't have the time or means to help themselves is far more meaningful than the best sitcom.
