How to live longer on less time

“Because of wisdom your days will be many and years will be added to your life”
 (Prov. 9:11)
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During the time in which Solomon wrote his proverbs it was widely assumed that there was a correlation between the way a person lived and how long they would live. I think that most of us would agree that in a broad sense the connection is still applicable. We would argue that the balanced life will outlast the rogue. However, apart from that probability I would like to check out other considerations related to the extension of life.
      Life is good. It provides us with time to follow a profession that is not only rewarding in itself, but repays time spent with financial benefits that make creature comforts possible. If we hadn’t been “on the job” today we never would have been able to eat at that nice restaurant, drive home in our new car, and plan the next cruise.. Time allows us to moderate our days with favorite pastimes such as gardening, music, reading, hiking, etc. But in what way does wisdom relate to all this? Good common sense (my definition of wisdom, rather than the dictionary’s “an advanced state of mental agility) encourages moderation in life style and that normally increases our number of years. So, live a normal life and you will probably have more years to do those things that make life here on earth more enjoyable.
      That, having been said, I would like to suggest that there are ways to expand life regardless of its length. Watched a really good movie the other night, the South Korean documentary, “My love, don’t cross that river.” It chronicled the relatively short period before the couple’s 76 years of marriage ended with his death. It was authentically honest, morally uplifting, beautifully done by Jin Mo-young, the filmmaker who, like a fly on the wall, was right there for the final 15 months, catching all the precious moments of true love. My point is that the experience of watching that film “expanded” the days of my life. Numerically my days remain the same, but realistically they were extended. Had I spend the same amount of time on some worthless activity (like watching weather on TV for umpteenth time) my day would have been “shorter” to say nothing of being deprived of a meaningful involvement in the life of another.
      Put it this way: wisdom will lengthen your days not only by giving you more of them, but also by allowing you to enrich them with all things worthwhile. The expansion of time is qualitative, not simply quantitative. Time being irreplaceable calls on the wise person to fill it with activities that bring the rich rewards of the brighter side of life.