Tale of the Tape Measure: This Was the Most of Life -This Was the Least of Life

Tale of the Tape Measure:

This Was the Most of Life — This Was the Least of Life

Go Ahead Kids, You Can Try This at Home

Go to your junk drawer or tool box, wherever, and grab a tape measure. On a stretch of kitchen counter or dining room table, pull out the tape to seven feet or so and lock it there.

At seven feet the tape measure is stretched out to 84 inches. According to worldlifeexpectancy.com as of 2016 the average life expectancy in the United States is 76 for a male and 81 for a female. You know in a flash where your age falls on the tape. Every inch marks a year. What’s your reaction? Mild amusement? Is it shocking to see how many inches are gone and how few may be left on the tape? Or do you shrug it off and carry on normally. After all, it’s only a metaphor or an illustration. It doesn’t need to be an epiphany.

Have I Invested My Time Wisely?

While awareness of growing older may be swept to the back of our minds, seeing those passing years represented by inches marked out on a tape measure sharpens your focus. How do we react? We may ask ourselves if we treasured our lives in each of those years that elapsed. Do we have predominantly happy memories or too many miserable…