“Time is not measured by the years that we live, but by the deeds that we do and the joys that we give.”
–Helen Steiner Rice
It is what we do with our lives, not how long we live, that determines what kind of legacy we leave behind. We will be remembered by those who knew us in either a positive or a negative light. Some of us will leave behind memories of how we spread sunshine and helped other people. Others of us will be remembered for the hurt we inflicted on those with whom we came into contact. Every individual has an impact on the society in which he or she lives, so when we come to the end of life’s journey, the world will be either better or worse because we lived.
Doing good deeds or engaging in acts of kindness cost us little or nothing, but they can have enormous value to the recipients. All of us have our share of problems, but some people have more troubles than others. We never know what problems a person might be facing at any given time, so a warm smile or a kind word can often make a person’s day. In fact, cases have been reported of people who had lost all hope and were about to commit suicide only to be pulled back from the brink by an unexpected act of kindness by a stranger.
It has been said that the world owes us nothing, but we owe each other the world. I believe that God dwells in each of us and that He uses our hands to do His work on earth. If we see ourselves as instruments of God, we will want to help others. We don’t help others with the expectation of being repaid for our efforts. We help them because it is the right thing to do. When someone has stumbled, we reach down to offer them a helping hand because that is what God would want us to do. And when we lose our own footing, we should welcome the offers of others to help us.
We all travel on the same ship of life, so if the ship goes down, we all go down with it. That being the case, we are helping ourselves when we help others. This is not a dog eat dog world, even though some people behave as if it were. Instead of trying to build ourselves up by tearing down others, we should be trying to elevate our brothers, and they should be trying to elevate us.
We each carry a candle as we travel life’s journey. Sometimes our candle is burning so brightly that we can light up the lives of others as well as our own. At other times, our candle may not even be bright enough to illuminate our own pathway so we will have to count on the light of others for a time. Nobody’s candle glows at all times, so none of us are equipped to travel the journey of life alone. Yet, the collective light of all our candles is enough to illuminate everyone’s pathway. According to William Wordsworth, “The best portion of a good man’s life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.”
Think about it.
***
Copyright 2026
Allen W. Smith
