“To The Making of Books There Is No End”

An ole’ timer once told me to, “Be careful about renewing subscriptions to hobby or pastime journals, they tend to repeat themselves seasonally.”  What an insight this old fellow had.  Of course Solomon said it best centuries ago when he wrote, “To the making of books there is no end.”  And that still holds merit even today.

Too often it seems that we get caught up in recording the present while missing living.  With social media this has become even more rampant, as people seem to prefer the selfie or the video clip over the corporeal reality of life.

There is a reason why marriage and family counselors strongly suggest that electronics, reading material, (TV, cell phones, books, magazines, etc.) are best left out of the dinning room and bedroom.  Watching, reading or focusing on pictures, videos or short segments of life cannot truly portray real life itself.  And because we are all here to live a real life we should spend as much time as possible participating in it rather than observing short snippets in the lives of others.

As you know this obviously applies to more than just your participation in social media, movies, TV, magazine and reading material.  How you choose to spend your time is critical in how successful and significant your life will be to others as well as yourself.

Attempting to create a fairytale book of your life for others to watch or read can lead to you not living yourself. And that is a tragedy because as the legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice stated,

“For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, He writes –not that you won or lost but HOW you played the GAME.”

How are you playing your GAME?  Are you enthusiastic, honest, forthright, attentive, benevolent, caring, happy, cheerful?  Or are you passive, less than truthful, shady, missing from action, indifferent, or cold?

These are the most important parts of the GAME.  Anybody can become wealthy with material possessions.  We all know at least one person who has become rich but still haven’t found the happiness they were searching for.  But if you play your GAME with interest, integrity and intensity while demonstrating kindness and feeling towards other players in the GAME, the One Great Scorer will only have wonderful marks to write alongside your name.  And that means you will be a winner because no matter how much money or material possessions you own and accumulate you can’t win without these traits.

We often say that wealth is what is left after the money is all gone from your life.  How much greater wealth does one possess who has created a good name, fond memories and enduring happiness than the one who just accumulates possessions, people and physical things about them for the sake of ownership.

What kind of book are you?  Paul said “We are books read by all men.”  What are others to read about you?  Take time to take part in other peoples’ lives and in doing so become a book that is worth reading and keeping around for generations to come.  When you do so, then the possessions, people and physical things will automatically be there for you.  But if you choose to play the game by trying to attract the possessions, people and physical things first, you’ll never find the happiness you crave and need to really live life to the fullest.

“There is nothing new under the sun.”  So remember to live your life to the fullest and realize that the One Great Scorer will someday write against you name.  May that writing be delightfully breathtaking for you.