3900 Saturdays is a great story to make us realize how many we have in a lifetime. The man in the story determined that if the average person only lived for 75 years that he or she would have 3,900 Saturdays to enjoy. So he bought 1,000 marbles when he realized that’s how many Saturdays he had left. He threw one marble away at the end of each Saturday to acknowledge that another had gone by.
I am visualizing a big jar with all the marbles I have left. I counted and realized I have 1,115 Saturdays to go if I only live until 75 years old. maybe I’ll have more and maybe I’ll have fewer. That’s a pretty profound realization, don’t you think?
On February 16, 2007, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. For some reason, I knew that I would not die from it and I believe that attitude played an important part of my proactiveness and outcomes. The first five years of remission are critical and being cancer-free by the end of the 5th year is a huge milestone! The results of the mammogram I took last month came back clear and the big breath I’d been holding inside was released. Of course, cancer survivors don’t ever think think they are “out of the woods” and they cherish their lives so much more.
Last night, my 4:25 pm flight from Minneapolis to Denver was delayed as we were waiting for our plane to arrive from Chicago. Then, we sat on the tarmac for two more hours because the de-icing spray got into the vents and somehow shut down the plane’s computer and power. We were towed back to the date, the technicians fixed the problem, we had to be de-iced again after being on the ground so long, and finally landed in Denver 3 hours later.
A lot of people were upset by the delay and the man sitting beside me asked why I was so calm. I replied, “As a cancer survivor, I don’t sweat the small stuff anymore, and this is a minor event.” He agreed that a different perspective made things look differently.
As I drink my lovely cup of tea this morning, I reflect on the 3900 Saturdays story and hope you will, too. Here’s the question to ponder: How many Saturdays do you have left and how do you want to use them?
I don’t know about you, but I’m planning a Survivor Party to celebrate with my family and friends. Wanna come?
3900 Saturdays is one of the stories featured in the book Charging the Human Battery by Mac Anderson (founder of Successories) and I’m buying this today. Maybe you should, too, and enjoy this Saturday and the limited ones you have ahead: http://store.simpletruths.com/charging-the-human-battery-p1412.aspx