When you heard about what happened at Ft. Hood yesterday, were you hungry for more details on the piece of garbage who did it, like I was? For some primal reason, I wanted to know everything there was to know about that murderous traitor.
Then, after a few hours, I started thinking about the 13 people who became his victims. I stopped caring about the killer and how angry I was. I focused on those innocent folks instead. I also searched for some lesson…some meaning.
I came up with the age-old wisdom of cherishing every moment of life and not wasting any. This is just another way to get clarity on my real definition of success. Not a new thought, I know, but one I tend to forget about as I get caught up in my daily “critical missions.” How about you?
I know this is a personal finance blog and this issue may not seem to have anything to do with personal finance. But if you think about it, you may agree that it really does.
We spend all day long pursuing financial survival and success – at least I do. We sometimes gloss over the really important things that make our lives really rich. Our families. People we love.
We know this to be true, yet we forget it – again, at least that’s true for me.
Yesterday serves as a reminder to embrace our real wealth every moment we can, because we never know how long we’ll have it.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
You are so right about this.
Luke 12:15b points this fact out to us clearly.
even when a person has an abundance, his life does NOT result from the things he possesses.
It took me 57-58 years to really realize who i must thank daily (in the morning) when i wake up that i am still alive. Man can take life, but God only can restore it.
Very sad and tragic , but never think too bad, for them, for they are just as human as we all are, these things could befall us all.
Be rich toward God.
some may think it’s touchy feely, but like the commenter Donna, i too realize (at 56) how precious each day is. everything one has accumulated during one’s lifetime means absolutely nothing in the end. i mentioned in a previous comment that both of my parents and my two brothers (who were only 3 years older than me, twins)are all dead. after each of their deaths, i re-evaluated my life and priorities. i still believe that my economic future is important if i want to be able to enjoy my remaining years to the fullest extent possible, but it’s not what i live for. i think the current economic situation may have caused some people to re-evaluate their own lives and what is/is not important, and that’s a good thing.
Bonnie and Donna….
I appreciate you sharing your feelings too.
I’m 52 – not too far behind you – and I’m also just now seeing this clearly.
Neal – I think about the impermanance of life everyday and that’s why I wrote an article that went up on Wise Bread called “Knowing When To Walk Away – Financial Planning For An Unknown Future.”
Life speed accelerates, so rather than choose an ever increasing financial target to retire, choose an age!
52 is the new 32 Neal, you’re all good!
yes, i thank God every day for my family and friends but i am still angry about this incident that could have been prevented if our government had different rules in the army bases;like having solders carrying their guns at all times and doing a better job at rooting out radicalism from our country!
mimi
My husband was Navy for 20 years. Mimi, Satan transforms himself into an angel of “light”. How can you weed evil out if you cannot recognize it?
We must become cautious as serpents but innocent as doves (study Gods word).
I understand your anger.
2 Timothy 3: 1-5 will shed a ray of light on the issues we are dealing with on nearly a daily basis these days. Nothing should be surprising. It is coping with it, that is difficult at times.