The Time Keeper

by Mitch Albom

Try to imagine a life without timekeeping. You probably can’t. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out.

is never too late or too soon. It is when it is supposed to be.”

“You marked the minutes,” the old man said. “But did you use them wisely? To be still? To cherish? To be grateful? To lift and be lifted?”

“Remember this always: There is a reason God limits man’s days.”

Sometimes, when you are not getting the love you want, giving makes you think you will.

But a man who can take anything will find most things unsatisfying. And a man without memories is just a shell.

But hurting ourselves to inflict pain on others is just another cry to be loved.

She had been so consumed with escaping her own misery, she hadn’t considered the misery she might inflict.

“You had many more years,” he said. “I didn’t want them.” “But they wanted you. Time is not something you give back. The very next moment may be an answer to your prayer. To deny that is to deny the most important part of the future.” “What’s that?” “Hope.”

“Ends are for yesterdays, not tomorrows.”

“With endless time, nothing is special. With no loss or sacrifice, we can’t appreciate what we have.”

“There is a reason God limits our days.” “Why?” “To make each one precious.”

We do not realize the sound the world makes—unless, of course, it comes to a stop. Then, when it starts, it sounds like an orchestra.