We count what matters. And what we count expresses what we value. We count time in our schedules and dollars in our bank account. Counting is a way of keeping track, a way of paying attention. A way of valuing.
What we don’t count tends to drift to the back of our mind. What we are not tracking won’t get our attention.
In the arena of life, we often spend time counting painful situations. We keep track of what hurts. Worse, we keep track of who hurt us. We also count the moments of euphoria, the highlight reel of life.
What we may not count often enough is everyday occurrences. During the mundane part of living, the routines of life, we can be lulled into a sense of complacency. During life on the plains, days and weeks and months slip by. Perhaps a high or a low arrives and awakens us to the seriousness and the joy of life like an alarm clock going off. But without that stimulus we tend to lose track of the amazing opportunities hidden in the plain sight of the every-day.
The Psalmist is asking for the wisdom to see every day as valuable. To count it. To name it. To see it for the opportunity it is worth. Life is as much what we do in the mundane times as what we do in the highs and lows. Maybe more so.