I have never met a person who did not know how old they were. It is one of the ways we evaluate our lives. Celebrating birthdays is common in most all countries as far as I know.
However, I read this notation from the life of Napoleon the other day and found one who did not believe birthdays were worthy of counting. “Napoleon was involved in conversation with a colonel of a Hungarian battalion who had been taken prisoner in Italy. The colonel mentioned he had fought in the army of Maria Theresa. “You must have a few years under your belt!” exclaimed Napoleon. “I’m sure I’ve lived sixty or seventy years,” replied the colonel. “You mean to say,” Napoleon continued, “you have not kept track of the years you have lived?” The colonel promptly replied, “Sir, I always count my money, my shirts, and my horses—but as for my years, I know nobody who wants to steal them, and I shall surely never lose them.”
That is an interesting observation, but most everyone would agree, a very uncommon one. It is true, however, that a person’s age doesn’t always describe their accomplishments or even the wisdom they may have gathered over the years. Apparently his concern was that something’s have value and whether or not something could or might be stolen from him. Obviously his years on earth were not one of those things he thought had value.
The reason, I suppose, things are important, other than years, is because things are what we work with every day, what we carry or use each day or if a thing is seldom used they are what we find a place to store. Things take up our time, we would have very little to do each day without the things we manipulate. The following story is about the things, “The important Things in Life”
“A teacher walks into a classroom and sets a glass jar on the table. He silently places 2-inch rocks in the jar until no more can fit. He asks the class if the jar is full and they agree it is. He says, “Really,” and pulls out a pile of small pebbles, adding them to the jar, shaking it slightly until they fill the spaces between the rocks. He asks again, “Is the jar full?” They agree. So next, he adds a scoop of sand to the jar, filling the space between the pebbles and asks the question again. This time, the class is divided, some feeling that the jar is obviously full, but others are wary of another trick. So he grabs a pitcher of water and fills the jar to the brim, saying, “If this jar is your life, what does this experiment show you?” A bold student replies, “No matter how busy you think you are, you can always take on more.” “That is one view,” he replies. Then he looks out at the class making eye contact with everyone, “The rocks represent the BIG things in your life—what you will value at the end of your life—your family, your partner, your health, fulfilling your hopes and dreams. The pebbles are the other things in your life that give it meaning , like your job, your house, your hobbies, your friendships. The sand and water represent the ‘small stuff’ that fills our time, like watching TV or running errands.” Looking out at the class again, he asks, “Can you see what would happen if I started with the sand or the pebbles?”
That is one of the best stories that I have ever heard that puts things in perspective. Many people go through life tied up in little things and therefore have never been lifted up by a big thing or escaped the little things to find some greatness.
We grow great by our dreams; we are all dreamers. Some of us let those great dreams die while others nourish them and keep them protected until by and by they can bring them to flourishment. Dreams are much like smoke rising up from a fire. When we let the fire go out, both the smoke and the dream are gone. We have to keep the fire, the dream alive until we can live it in reality.
Yes! Things are important and some are more important than others. Maybe we should make the simple things important too! Simple things like; the smell of pancakes in the morning…The colors of a simple sunset…a bee buzzing in a patch of Spring flowers…The kindness in the smile of a stranger…the warmth of a hug by someone we love…The thought of a good friend… the brightness of a full moon. Simple things that warm our hearts.