The Clockmaker’s Gift

M Mehran

When Elias turned eighty, people often asked him, “What’s your secret? How do you still look so alive?”

His answer always began with the same words:
“I learned it from a clock.”

Most assumed it was a joke. But those who stayed to listen discovered a story that held a lesson for every person chasing a longer, fuller life.


---

The Apprentice Years

As a boy, Elias worked in his father’s small shop, fixing watches and clocks. His father, a wise and patient man, would say, “A clock doesn’t only measure time—it teaches it.”

At the time, Elias didn’t understand. He only wanted to escape chores and play outside. But years later, when his friends grew tired, bitter, or ill, Elias realized he had unconsciously shaped his life around those lessons.


---

Lesson One: Wind Yourself Daily

“Every clock must be wound,” his father had said, showing him how to turn the delicate key. “Without it, the clock stops. Without it, so do you.”

Elias translated this into a daily rhythm of movement. He never let a day pass without walking through the village, tending his small garden, or stretching his body. It wasn’t exercise—it was maintenance, like winding gears.

Even in his eighties, his stride remained steady, his back strong. He often joked, “Rust gathers faster on a body than on a clock.”


---

Lesson Two: Keep Your Gears Clean

Dust, his father warned, was the enemy of clocks. Left unattended, it slowed everything.

Elias learned that the human body also gathers “dust”—through unhealthy food, stress, and neglect. He cleared it by choosing simple, nourishing meals. Whole grains, fresh vegetables, fruits, and modest portions of meat fueled his life.

While others relied on pills, Elias relied on clean “gears.” His energy rarely faltered, his mind stayed sharp, and his doctor always marveled at his steady health.


---

Lesson Three: Stay in Rhythm

Clocks tick with rhythm. Miss a beat, and the whole system falters.

Elias kept rhythm in his own life—waking with the sunrise, resting at night, eating meals at regular times. He believed the body, like a clock, thrives on consistency.

“Respect your rhythm,” he would say. “Chaos inside creates chaos outside.” His steady patterns gave him calm, focus, and resilience when challenges arrived.


---

Lesson Four: Work Together

No clock works alone. Each gear depends on another.

Elias lived by this truth. He built deep relationships—with his wife, his children, his neighbors. He was quick to forgive, eager to share, and always made time to sit with a friend in need.

Science now confirms what Elias lived: loneliness can shorten life, but connection strengthens it. Elias’s gears never rusted because they were linked to others, turning together in harmony.


---

Lesson Five: Purpose is the Pendulum

Every clock has a pendulum swinging at its heart. Without it, nothing moves.

Elias found his pendulum in teaching. After years as a clockmaker, he began mentoring young apprentices—not just about gears and springs, but about patience, discipline, and life itself.

Purpose gave him direction, even when age bent his body. “If you have a why,” he told them, “your pendulum will keep swinging.”


---

Lesson Six: Accept the Hours

Perhaps the most profound lesson came from the face of the clock itself. Hours passed no matter what. The morning of youth, the noon of maturity, the evening of old age.

“Don’t curse the evening,” his father had told him. “It is part of the day.”

So Elias accepted aging with grace. He laughed at his wrinkles, welcomed his slower pace, and celebrated birthdays not as countdowns, but as blessings. His acceptance gave him peace that no cream or medicine could offer.


---

The Clockmaker’s Gift

Now, when neighbors visited Elias in his old age, they didn’t find a man clinging desperately to youth. They found someone who moved lightly, spoke kindly, and carried joy like a lantern.

His home was filled with clocks—grandfather clocks, pocket watches, delicate wristwatches. Some were centuries old, yet they ticked faithfully, cared for by his gentle hands.

When asked again for his secret, Elias would gesture to the ticking chorus around him.

“Do what a clock does. Keep moving. Stay clean. Honor rhythm. Depend on others. Protect your purpose. Accept your hours. Do this, and you’ll not just count time—you’ll live it.”


---

Science Behind the Story

Though Elias is fictional, his life mirrors what researchers call the pillars of longevity:

Daily activity keeps muscles, bones, and heart strong.

Nutritious diets reduce disease and maintain energy.

Consistency in sleep and routines supports overall health.

Relationships and social bonds reduce stress and extend life.

Purpose and meaning give resilience through hardship.

Acceptance of aging creates peace and reduces fear.


These aren’t secrets locked in laboratories—they are habits available to all of us.


---

A Question for Us All

Elias’s story leaves us with a question: if our life is a clock, how are we caring for it?

Are we winding it daily with movement, or letting it sit still? Are our gears clogged with stress and unhealthy choices, or polished with nourishment? Is our pendulum of purpose swinging, or stuck in silence?

Longevity is not measured in years alone, but in the steady ticking of days well lived. The gift of the clockmaker is a reminder: life, like time, is precious. Don’t waste it.