…or very like it in one respect, anyway. It has to do with how we use the time we have, not the time we want. With money, there are two ways to be rich, by having more or by wanting less. Truly happy people are the latter, I think. They aren’t constantly striving for more, nor do they become slaves to debt.

At sixty-four, I’ve become only too aware of time. I’m well past the good old days of youth and even middle age, when time felt a lot like credit. Like my credit rating, as long as my health was good, time was plentiful and mine to squander. Now, though, like someone crippled by debt, I see it never was like that.

If I’m to be content, I have to decide very consciously what activities are important to me. Then, I have to focus and let others fall away. It’s like watching the little convertible pass me by as I climb into my truck…nice to have but out of my reach. My ADD self wants to travel, speak French and Italian, study history and philosophy and religion, meditate, learn the piano, build a house, write, be active in my community, host dinner parties, play in a band, read the classics, grow a garden, study photography, visit family, have a partner, work out, and still have time to sip whiskey with friends before the fire. But, alas…

So, if I’m to wind down my days happy and content, I have to decide: Which will it be? Or, I can continue to strive, thinking of time I never had…instead of remembering moments with treasures that were always at hand.