An elderly friend once counseled me with this advice:
“When you go out and a job, remember that you are selling your time to somebody. You have to do your job well, so that the people that you work for can say that they're getting their money's worth. But, you only have so much time in this world. So, make sure that you don't part with it too easily. Once your time is gone...you can't make more.”
I've carried that advice with me ever since. It's helped me to enter into that transaction that we call “employment” more thoughtfully. As a result, I can honestly say that I have never held down a job that did not bring me satisfaction far beyond the figure printed on the paycheck.
But, the truth embodied in my friend's good advice has also helped me to “number my days” and value my time appropriately. It has shaped my attitude towards ALL of the work that I lay my hand to...whether it is work that I am receiving money to do...or work I've done as a volunteer.
In fact, I have come to understand that my friend's advice carries even greater weight when I apply it to volunteer work.
It can be difficult, given the way that so many of us find ourselves portioning out our minutes, to “find the time” to volunteer. That is (at least in part) due to the fact that it is work that we know we will not receive money for. Yet, the reality is that dollars and cents are not the only things of value that we have in this world. Choosing to do volunteer work will sometimes mean that our lives are enriched in ways that mere money could never buy.
Think about it for a moment.
Would seeing your child (or any child) take part in some activity that allows them to learn and grow (and have fun) be “worth” giving some of your time to act as an official or a coach?
Would having a need in your community met be “worth” giving some of your time to work at a fund-raising event?
Would providing comfort and aid to people who have had to cope with some hardship or serious health concern be “worth” giving your time to serve on a committee?
Canada Day allowed all of us an opportunity to experience the ways that we benefit from volunteer work done by others. The Bobby Vargo Ball Tournament, for example, is an event run completely by volunteers motivated both by the memory of that dear one that they lost...and a desire to benefit the community that he cared about so deeply. Did you enjoy the parade? It would not have happened were it not for the hours that volunteers gave to make that celebration happen. The Quilt Show provided a spectacular example of the warmth and beauty that flows out of time given in love.
And of course...if you happened to attend the official opening for Kipling's new Fire Hall...you had the chance to congratulate our community's volunteer firefighters on seeing the completion of their (much needed) new “home”.
My friend passed away several years ago. There were many people left behind to cherish his memory...family and friends whose lives had been made so much richer because he had been a part of those lives.
The legacy that my friend left for me has been this truth:
When I come to that moment when my time in this world is done...the ONLY treasure that I know I will be able to carry away with me...will be the ability to look back on this life of mine...and know that it was time...well spent.
