There is a new Broadway show out called Rent, which poses a very thought-provoking question in its chorus line. ‘In 525, 600 minutes, how do you measure a year in the life? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee, in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife?’ How do people actually measure their lives? One could measure their lives by the experiences they have been through. It could tie in with the bumper sticker: ‘The one who dies with the most toys wins!’ But, I believe the one who dies with the most toys doesn’t win… They just die. We can’t just count the number of trophies in the case, or how many frequent flier miles someone has.
I believe these do add to how to measure one’s life, however, the most important way is in their deeds and their ability to contribute to others. One way in which someone can measure their lives is by the experiences they go through. In The Box of Matches, by Nicholson Baker, the main character writes down events that he has gone through and what he was thinking about when they were happening. He records memories of when his children were growing up, or what happened to his duck in the backyard yesterday. Small events that are so important, experiences, really are what he measures his life by. Each chapter starts off in the morning when he gets up and lights a match.
It’s another day, another memory, and another match. I believe events one has seen in their lifetime greatly adds to how they can measure their life. Since I have lived in china, I believe that I have grown as a person and that my life has had more substantial meaning than before. I have experienced many new things, which have helped to broaden my mental scope on people of different cultures and nationalities. If I hadn’t moved to China, I believe that I still would have been very na ” ive. Because of this great experience I have been given the opportunity to go through, I have grown more as a person, and I believe my life now can be measured with more value.
Wayne Dyer once said, “The measure of your life will not be in what you accumulate, but in what you give away.” I don’t believe that one should measure the quality of a life based on career success, but on the net effect of it, and how it has enriched society. For example, let’s try to measure the lives of two individuals, a poor teacher and a wealthy drug dealer. Some may say that the wealthy drug dealer’s life is worth more, since he has more money and bigger house. However, when we get down to it, the wealthy drug dealer most likely didn’t contribute anything to society, other than adding to people’s horrible addictions. The teacher, although poor, taught hundreds of children during his career, and educated the youth of society. I believe that we should measure people’s lives by how well they contribute to others.
Some people make a difference to the lives of the billions that inhabit the earth by brainstorming inventions, coming up with ways to help the environment, or finding cures for diseases. However, there are countless people who leave footprints in the hearts and minds of hundreds, and who dedicate their whole lives for the benefit of the human race. I believe this is the true way to measure one’s life. If you were to die right now, would you be satisfied with your life? How can one measure whether or not their life has value? I believe regardless of wealth, if someone has experienced a lot of things, and has a well-rounded view of the world, their life will be measured as such. Also, if their life has contributed to the well being of others, I believe their life will be measured as having a lot of worth. Works Cited Baker, Nicholson.
A Box of Matches. New York: Random House, 2003. Groopman, Jerome. The Measure of our Days.
New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1998. Rabbi Cohen Sermon Archives. Temple Beth Shalom. 20 Jan. 2005. Roman, Joe.
‘A Place Where All The Snowflakes Are Still Different.’ New York Times 2 Jan. 2005, sec. F: 10-11. ‘Seasons of Love.’ By Stephen Schwartz. Rec. 27 Aug.
1996. Broadway Musical: Rent. Dream Works, 1996. Voices of the Holocaust.
The British Library. 25 Jan. 2005. Wayne Dyer: Measure of life. Quote DB. 20 Jan.
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