Every once in a while, something so simple carries a truth so powerful that it stops us in our tracks. This story begins not with a quote or a parable—but with jelly beans.
Roughly 28,835 jelly beans, to be exact.
That’s the average number of days in an American lifespan.
One bean. One day. Each representing the most precious thing we possess—time.
You might live more days than that. Or fewer. But on average, that’s our allotment. And once you see that pile laid out in front of you—bean after bean, day after day—it changes something inside.
Your First Day, Your First Year, Your First 15 Years
The very first jelly bean? That’s the day you were born. A monumental moment, yet one none of us remember. Add 364 more, and there’s your first year. Multiply that by 15, and we reach the threshold of adulthood—5,475 days spent just getting to the starting line of our conscious life.
And from there, the big question begins to form: What do we actually do with the rest?
The Life We Live, Bean by Bean
Let’s break it down.
- We’ll sleep for 8,477 days. A third of our life.
- Eating, drinking, and preparing food? 1,635 days.
- Working—hopefully at something meaningful: 3,202 days.
- Commuting: 1,099 days (a bit more if you live in a big city).
- Watching TV or screens of some kind: 2,676 days.
- Household chores, errands, shopping: 1,576 days.
- Caring for loved ones: 564 days.
- Bathing and grooming: 671 days.
- Civic, spiritual, and educational activities: 720 days.
And when we account for all of that, we’re left with this final pile.
The remainder. The margin. The time for everything else.
The Time That’s Truly Yours
This is the time that isn’t scheduled or obligated. It’s the space in your life for joy, creativity, love, presence, and purpose.
It’s time for laughter, for long walks, for making music or art, for reading books and watching sunsets. It’s the space where you teach yourself something new, send a heartfelt text, go for a swim, or call an old friend.
It’s the time for spiritual reflection, for dreaming, for daring, for doing.
It’s the time to live not just by habit, but by intention.
So let me ask you a few important questions:
- How much of that time have you already used?
- If you only had half of it left, would you live differently?
- What if you only had one more day—one jelly bean—how would you spend it?
You Still Have Today
In a world that often distracts us from what matters most, this jelly bean metaphor brings us back to center. To the truth that life is not measured in years, but in days—and not in the number of days, but in the quality of how we live them.
The gift of life isn’t just in having time. It’s in choosing how to spend it.
So I leave you with this gentle challenge:
What are you going to do today?
Because this day—this one jelly bean—is yours.
Use it well.
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