The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make to them; a man may live long, yet get little from life…

Starting strong, this is blog number two in a collection of stories. If this is the first piece you’ve come across, welcome, and here is a link to the first installment for you to learn the premise of this series.

Quote #2 | “The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make to them; a man may live long, yet get little from life. Whether you find satisfaction in life depends not on your tale of years, but on your will”. — Michel de Montaigne

I was talking to my older brother one day, and he said, “I know I say this a lot, but I am proud of you.” I said, “I appreciate it.” but truthfully, I brushed it off. Not because I wasn’t grateful to hear those words, but because he does say that a lot. Nonetheless, our conversation continued. Toward the end, he repeated that sentence and followed it with, “It’s as if you know exactly who you are, how old you are, and you live within those moments.”

Whenever I have the chance, I love to ask people who are older than I am: “what advice would you give your younger self” or “what advice would you give to a {insert my current age}” or some form of that question. The intention behind the question is two-fold. Most responses are fascinating, but honestly, it helps me better understand how to measure my quality of life.

My mother uses the phrase “that’s life” to describe countless situations. Those two words can characterize just about any experience, good or bad. As simplistic as the following realization may be, I believe it is not worth taking for granted. The longest responsibility we individually have is to live our lives. We will do this longer than we work, play a sport, raise a child, or even care for a loved one. Pondering that reality has led to a passionate curiosity to make sense of life. This pursuit of answers is why I ask questions similar to the ones mentioned previously.

Thinking about all the responses I’ve heard over the past couple of years, one conclusion, one can measure life by understanding intent vs. intentional. Intent is the want or desire to do. Intentional is the actionable and deliberate completion. An example may help illustrate the difference; I was raised in a small town. Growing up, many friends and I fostered the intent to leave. During the time of this writing, only a few of us were intentional in leaving.

If you had the chance to speak to one of us, we would probably remember those conversations and say, “that’s life in a small town.”

To my nephew,

I challenge you to be intentional with your desires.