Commentary: The life in your years

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Matt Greene
  • 100th Civil Engineer Squadron commander
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Last month at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., I had the privilege of attending the inurnment ceremony for our own Capt. Jenna Wilcox, an active duty civil engineer who was fatally injured in a vehicle accident earlier this year.

Under a piercing blue sky, more than 100 of Captain Wilcox's family members, friends, and comrades-in-arms participated in the most-honoring tradition our nation can offer one of its fallen servants.

The cemetery at Arlington is surely the most hallowed of American soil, and any visit there is a moving experience. The rolling hills, old-growth oaks, row upon arrow-straight row of blazing white headstones, the trademark monuments of our nation's capitol on the horizon - all serving as reminders of our country's history, prosperity, and willingness to sacrifice selflessly in the pursuit of freedom.

Add to these surroundings a military funeral with full honors - horse-drawn caisson, flag-draped coffin, crack of a 21-gun salute, a bugler's somber notes of taps, presentation of the cased flag, "on behalf of a grateful nation" - and it's powerful.

Yet, of all the thoughts and emotions evoked by that experience, the theme that my mind repeatedly returned to on that July afternoon was time. Time and what we do with ours. This isn't too surprising, I suppose, since funerals and cemeteries remind us that our time on this earth is limited.

I pondered the tragic story of Captain Wilcox, the irony of her surviving a year in Afghanistan only to die as a result of a bizarre auto accident. I considered my own mortality and faith and preparedness for this life to end, the death of my mother when I was young, and the shuddering thought of losing one of my own children.

I surveyed the countless gravestones and contemplated the various contributions to our nation represented by each one, what drove these men and women to serve as they did, and what differentiated their life story from others'. This brief introspection challenged me to relook at how I invest my time, minute by minute, until my allotment of time in this world expires, and I challenge you to do the same.

It was Abraham Lincoln who said, "And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." We all know energy givers who live life to the fullest, continually operating at maximum efficiency and pouring themselves into the lives of others, all with a genuine smile on their face.

Sadly, most of us know energy suckers who constantly grumble about their circumstances, finding excuses for their inactivity and failures, and draining time and optimism out of those around them. Both types of people are making choices as to how they spend their time. As Benjamin Franklin advised, "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."

Learning and practicing some fundamental tenants of time management can assist us in properly using our minutes, weeks and years. There is a multitude of books, articles, and seminars on the various time management methods, and I encourage you to find one that works for you, but they all share a common basis and fundamental step in charting a course to a rewarding life.

They require us to first define our values, for it is values that drive priorities, and priorities that drive action. Our values may come from faith in God, the U.S. Air Force, or other sources, but they must be more than our own selfish desires if we are to live lives of true meaning. It is our values that will determine the "life in our years."

So, how do you spend your time? When your gravestone is placed amongst those that have gone on before you, what will it represent?

I challenge you to consider your values and establish your goals now, for life is fleeting. Make them lofty, noble and selfless and have the discipline to live them out, minute by minute. While some of America's heroes are famous for legendary acts of battlefield courage, tens of thousands more have served just as honorably, and contributed just as much to their nation and humanity, by diligently investing each value-driven minute into themselves, their families, friends, and communities, as well as their government assignments.

You serve your nation honorably by living such a balanced life, in or out of uniform, and by doing so earn your place in the ranks of the faithful servants of this nation.