Tradeoffs

We must make decisions every day as to how we spend our time. As human beings, we can only concentrate on one thing at a time, and therefore, we could theoretically place a record of our life (thoughts, words and deeds) upon a ticker-tape.

The amount of time devoted to things on this ticker-tape would be an accurate measure of our personal priorities.

It would be interesting if we could collect two parallel ticker-tapes; One with just our thoughts, one with our deeds (words could be included with deeds as a type of deed).

I believe that most of the time, our thoughts and deeds would line up. e.g. we do what we are thinking. But there would be sparser times where we don't do the thing that we are thinking. I believe that these times are our defining moments. A few examples: I'm scared to death of giving a speech in front of people, but I do it anyway. Or, I don't want to get up and work, but I do it anyway. These types of situations are constructive. However, there are deconstructive situations. Perhaps I feel that drinking is not good for me, but I do it anyway so that I can fit in. Or perhaps I know that I should get up and do a certain chore, but don't. These moments are perhaps the ones that make our lives change direction.

So, there are tradeoffs. Doing and thinking things is inevitable, but we have to understand the consequences of those things.

Things of value: courage, knowledge, patience, faith, etc.
Things of no value: money, prestige, etc.

There is an old saying: "Time is money.", what they're really saying is: "you can trade life for money." Time only equates to money if you choose it to be. Some choose to trade a part of their life for money. And in fact we must do so to a certain extent since; "By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread all the days of thy life." Some have even figured out how to trade others lives for money. Consider, slavery, sweat shops, retail, advertising, etc. Or even worse, murder, war and conquest. "Surely my brother's flocks fall unto me... the master of this great secret".

We have the choice whether to trade life for perishable things or eternal things.
What we need to do is trade life for more life... which isn't a trade at all, it is an investment. learning, loving, etc. build upon things that won't perish away.

Since this life is spent on a single track, it is a good test to see what we trade it for. One can't walk two paths at once: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." - Mammon being the appetites and desires of the world.