How Do You Measure a Year in Your Life?

I took a long walk this past Saturday. It was a beautiful day - perfect for being outside - so I decided to get some exercise. I strapped on my iPod and set it to shuffle mode. I was just walking so all kinds of music worked (verus when I run and need 'upbeat' music). At one point in my walk the song Seasons of Love, from the Broadway musical Rent, began to play. The song poses the question: "How do you measure a year in the life?" then goes onto answer the question in a word: Love.

I really enjoyed the Broadway production of Rent when I saw it over a decade ago and also the movie when it came out. I also really like that song. It makes you think. I was thinking about all the different measures people use to define what makes them happy or makes them feel that their lives are valuable. Money seems to be one big way in which we seem to measure our success, one means of putting a value to our time here on Earth. There are other measures people use to assign value to their time - places visited, books read, meals shared with family and friends. These are all quantitative things. Things you can count so they make sense in that way. But love? Is love a measure of the value of a year in one's life? I say yes. Big time.

For me what makes things valuable are how they make you feel, not what they are. And love is the greatest feeling of all. To love and be loved is "it". When you love someone you truly want to make that other person happy. You want to do things for them. You want to protect them, ease their loads. It can cause you to become the most selfless of people wanting to do, to show that person how much you care, to make them feel good 'just because'. You want to experience everything you can with that person. You can't get enough.

There is another song, by Queen, that has a line that goes like this: "Just one year of love, is better than a lifetime alone." Think about that. Think about someone you love and how incredible and fantastic it makes you feel. Then think about never having that. Ever. If you have been fortunate enough to truly love someone then you will agree with that line. And the answer to the question from the Rent song. Love is a very powerful emotion. If you have brought joy, happiness, caring and love to another of felt it from another - for one year - than you have had a great year.

It is a true blessing to love and be loved. Much of what we do in our lives is driven by our love for others. Weekend youth sports events are packed with loving parents. Hospital rooms of those who are ill are crammed with loving friends and relatives. Countless couches are home to many a loving couple watching a movie on a Friday night. Many dogs and cats sleep peacefully on the laps of their loving owners. Cups of coffee are shared every day by old and dear friends who love one another. These experiences, which we can count if we wanted to, make up the years of our lives but what drives them? What makes them meaningful? It's the love that is shared or that is there with us, between us while we're doing all these things that we do every day.

So I say yes, love is how I measure a year in my life. How do you measure a year in yours?