What will you do with your 86,400?

In the past 15 days I have turned 40, watched my beloved Boston be devastated by a tragic bombing while worrying about friends and family in town for the occasion of the Boston Marathon, heard of not 1 but 2 unborn children and endured the sudden loss of Auntie Pat, a matriarch in the Boyle family. It has been a difficult and wild ride of emotions that have been weighing heavily on me for the past few days. A lot to have coming down all at once. Is this what turning 40 becomes? Am I going to start reading the obituaries and talking about who is dead, dying or otherwise sick? I didn't think that would hit until retirement!

On Sunday evening at what I am now calling the closing ceremonies of these past two weeks, I was celebrating the life and mourning the loss of Auntie Pat with friends and family in Windsor Locks, CT. It must be hard as a priest to come in to this situation and speak of a person so loved by so many yet unknown to him. Father Melnick did so with grace and dignity. His message has stuck with me.

"What if every day you were given $86,400 in an account to spend? The only  catch was that you had to spend it each and every day- all of it. The next day you would wake up to another $86,400. What would you do?" It got me thinking. The material things would get old. My family and their happiness would be very important. Perhaps I could use it to help hungry children get food. Sick children feel better. The message went on.

86,400- that's how many seconds we are given each and every day. They are ours. Completely. It is up to us to figure out what we are going to do with them. Mistakes happen. Maybe one day those moments will be used in a way that isn't exactly what we wanted, expected or hoped they would be used for. But, guess what? 86,400 more are waiting for us tomorrow. Auntie Pat has used all of her deposits up. Those unborn children were not given the chance to use their deposits, but their would-be parents have some of their own to use. The 8 year old killed at the marathon only had a small number of deposits.

What will I do with the deposits I am given from here on out? I don't know. My wish is to use them wisely. In such a way that I will touch others. Maybe inspire them to use their 86,400 in a different way. One that will make their lives and their world a better place. A place where an 8 year old won't have to tragically lose a life time of deposits. A place where we can celebrate a lifetime of deposits well spent, like we did with Auntie Pat. It is my wish to make the most of those 86,400 seconds that I get every day and live without regretting the use of that time. Learn from my mistakes, look forward to the next deposit while making sure that the current one is being used to the fullest.

I am still figuring all of this out, and digesting what has been handed to me. I may not come to an answer for all of the questions in my head, but I know that all of these things have happened for a reason. It will just take time to figure the reason out. Years, perhaps. But for now, I am going to walk away with my 86,400 and work my hardest to reach my end goal each and every day.

"To laugh often and to have lived much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived-this is to have succeeded. "
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is my goal. What will you do with your 86,400?