On Time: Young Enough and Old Enough

Is time an ally or an antagonist? It depends. It depends upon how we look upon time and how we use it.

Time has been called a thief. That designation offers some truth: Time robs us of our loved ones, steals the springs from our steps, the bloom from our cheeks, and the smoothness from our skins.

But if time is a thief, it is not without compassion. For everything it takes, time thoughtfully leaves something behind.

• In place of loved ones, it leaves undying and enduring lessons.
• The bloom it stole, time replaced with lines it gently etched in bright moments of shared laughter and somber moments of chastening sorrow.
• If we can no longer run as quickly as we did yesterday, we can stand today with greater poise.
• And, while time was stealing the smoothness from our skins, it was giving us the opportunity to remove the wrinkles from our souls.

Time does something else, as well. Time converts knowledge into wisdom, energies spent into experiences gained. Time leaves us richer for what we have had.

And time thoughtfully permits us to use the fire of youth to drive the engines of age. We can be young and old at the same time.

We can be young enough to believe in people, but old enough not to expect more from them that we are prepared to give.

We can be young enough to enjoy pleasure, but old enough to know that we miss the whole point of living if pleasure is all we pursue.

We can be young enough to acquire a new idea and old enough to surrender an ancient prejudice.

We can be young enough to strive for success, but old enough to treasure the things that money cannot buy.

We can be young enough to want to be attractive, but old enough to appreciate the beauty that is manufactured inside ourselves.

We can be young enough to seek companionship, but old enough to appreciate solitude.

We can be young enough to crave happiness, but old enough to know that the harvest of happiness is usually reaped by the hands of helpfulness.

We can be young enough to want to be loved, but old enough to strive to be lovable.

We can be young enough to pray as if everything depended upon G!d, but old enough to act as if everything depended upon us.

May we have awareness of time’s talent for taking, but bask in time’s core of compassion.

And may that lead us to become both young enough and old enough at the same time.

Rabbi J.B. Sacks