In 1996, the song “Seasons of Love” made its debut on the Broadway musical Rent, composed by Jonathan Larson.  The night before the preview opening of the musical, Larson unexpectedly passed away.  Typically performed at the beginning of the second act, the cast sang it at the beginning of the performance to pay their respects to the composer.

The song has always piqued my interest in that it is based in math.  I know, I’m weird.  There are, quite literally, 525,600 minutes in a year.  So, the equation is 365 days x 24 hours in a day x 60 minutes in an hour = 525,600 minutes in a year.  The song lyrics ask what the proper way is to quantify the value of a year in human life, concluding in the chorus that the most effective means is to “measure in love”.

This past week, my oldest daughter, Eliana, turned 15, and in so doing, she extinguished 525,600 minutes from last year to this.  And thus, these minutes, also extinct from my life as well.  These minutes, these moments, fleeting…gone…only re-lived as memories memorialized either by iPhone pics, conversations around the dinner table…”remember when…”, or in the recesses of our own minds to be drawn upon when needed.

Time…our most precious commodity.  Unlike a tree, time is an unrenewable resource.  It is finite and unrecaptured.  A life lived between the ‘dash’ on the gravestone.  How are we spending this…this…this thing we call time?  These moments, these opportunities, these reactions, these breaths, these heartbeats…

~~~~~

A couple weeks ago, Eliana participated in the High School Cabaret.  It was a talent show of sorts that showcased the musical and vocal gifts that these high school students possessed.  When it was her turn for her performance, she walked on stage with about 12 other friends.  The piano motif began, providing the harmonic framework for the song they were about to perform.

I looked at her with eyes only a Dad would understand.  I was proud.  She was (is) beautiful.  Her voice…magic.  Her smile…contagious.  The harmony…heaven.  The performance…a magnum opus.

The lyrics began…

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure? Measure a year?

In daylights,
In sunsets,
In midnights,
In cups of coffee,
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife

In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in a life?

How about love?
How about love?
How about love?
Measure in love…
Seasons of love…
Seasons of love…

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty five thousand journeys to plan
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure a life of a woman or a man?

In truths that she learned
Or in times that she cried
In bridges he burned
Or the way that she died

Its time now to sing out though
The story never ends
Let’s celebrate remember a year in a life
Of friends

Remember the love…
(Oh you gotta remember the love)
Remember the love…
(Oh yeah, its a gift from up above)
Remember the love…
(Sing out, give out, measure your life, In love…!)
Seasons of love…
Seasons of love…

~~~~~

Happy Birthday, Eliana!  I love you!  Live these moments well!  You can’t get time back.  Enjoy these next 525,600 minutes!  You were made on purpose, for a purpose.  I can’t wait to see how your journey unfolds.  I’m proud of you.  You’re my heart.  I love being your Dad.  Our moments together are precious.  I vow not to waste them.

Time.  A gift from God.  A resource not to be taken for granted.  Moments so dear.

Live on purpose today!