Mark Twain Speaks from the Grave

Mark Twain Wisdom Speaks Today!

"This is what I need," said Mark Twain, "a good house fire. Then I have to make the choice exactly what to save.  There is no better way to know what you value."  There is one catch.  In this scenario, you know the house is on fire and you have time to actually grab something and run.  That was not the unfortunate case for the man (reported on CNN) who came home from vacation and found that his house had been mistakenly demolished by a wrecking crew.  That's right.  Nothing but a slab! 

Of course, by the time they interviewed this guy, he had time to recover from shock.  In a paraphrase, he said:  "Well, I have always wanted to rebuild the place and update everything.  The company has been more than apologetic by saying they will take care of everything."  I bet!  Perhaps a little inconvenience--but what a return on the investment!

But there is the wisdom of knowing what you value and building it into your life--before the house catches fire.  What do we weigh in the balance among so many things to live with--who and what do we live for?  That's the best part of a fire sale, a demolished home, any kind of loss--the grace to begin again with what really counts.

Oh yeah, what would you put in the scales of your values?