A Thousand Beads

A couple of months ago, I was driving home through the usual evening Dubai traffic. It was a Sunday evening. I turned on the radio to one of the presets. Along the way, the RJ Chris spoke to an old man about life’s experiences. He came across with a very zealous voice. He began to share his concept of a “ thousand beads”

I was intrigued and turned up the volume to listen to what this guy had to say. "Well, My son Mike, is always very busy with his job. I'm sure they pay him well but it's a shame he has to be away from home and his family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. “Too bad to miss your daughter's dance recital." He continued, "Let me tell you something Chris, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities." And that's when he began to explain his theory of a "thousand beads."

"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years. Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the number of Sundays that the average person has in their entire lifetime.

Now stay with me Chris, I'm getting to the important part. It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail," he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Sundays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a tailor store and bought every single bead they had. I ended up having to visit three tailoring stores to roundup 1000 beads. I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right next to my bed.

Every Sunday since then, I have taken one bead out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the beads finish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.

Now let me tell you one last thing before I leave you and take my lovely wife out for dinner. This morning, I took the very last bead out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Sunday, then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time. It was nice to meet you and speak to you Chris, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. 75 year Old Man, this is Melvin, good evening and bye"

I could hear my heart beat, the sound of the car didn’t exist, when this old man finished. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about.

That evening changed a lot in my life. My priorities changed.