I read a few month back that in order to appreciate how valuable time in our lives is we should calculate how many weeks we have left until we turn 75. Assuming I live to 75, I have 1515 weeks left to live. The advice continued to suggest you buy marbles for each week you have left to live and place them in a jar of some sort. Then each Saturday, you should remove a marble from the jar and throw it away.

This Saturday was the day after I turned 46 and it was the second week i removed a marble from the jar. When I counted up the marbles to place in the jar, I was worried there wouldn’t be that many marbles to begin with. I was surprised to see that I do have “quite” a few weeks left! Taking one marble out on Saturday gives me the feeling of urgency in accomplishing the things I want to accomplish in my life. This urgency was also brought out when I read the book 20,000 days and counting by Robert D. Smith, the business manager for Andy Andrews. I anticipate every Saturday to come and I think the marbles will help remind me that time is precious and that we all have to be conscious of that fact.