Smart Time

Life's Lessons - Joseph Mattappally

Is there anyone who answers all questions? I don’t mean Tom types. A friend one day asked Tom “How can you prove the earth is round?” Tom is said to have replied, “I can’t. Besides, I never said it was.” It seems that Tom believed that the responsibility of proving a thing rests only with the one who states something or agrees to something. Most of us have little Toms within and we do not care to find answers to things that do not directly concern us. Still, is it not interesting to find a genuine answer to ‘what is most important in life?’

It is humorously said that we learn the truth from the guy next door. I remember the story of little Jack and Mr. Harold. Jack used to spend much time with Mr. Harold and they were good friends. Years passed by and there came in the news that Harold has passed away. Jack murmured, ‘He's the one who taught me carpentry, I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...’ Jack caught the next flight to his home town. Mr. Harold’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away. The night before he had to return home Jack and his Mom stopped by, to see the old house next door one more time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held old memories; so was every picture and every piece of furniture. Jack stopped suddenly. "What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked. "The box is gone," he said. "What box?” Mom asked. "There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said. It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box.  "Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said."

It had been about two weeks, since Mr. Harold Belser died. One day Jack received a surprise package. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. ‘Mr. Harold Belser’, it read. Jack ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack carefully unlocked the box just to find a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved: "Jack, Thanks for your time!”  Harold Belser.  ‘The thing he valued most...was...my time’ whispered Jack. If we have a habit of observing and making corresponding inferences, it is easy to realize how important other’s time in our life is. That time we spend for others, I love to call it ‘smart time’, because it is the best of all time; also it is the most valuable thing in another’s life. 

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