I have been able to have a family and to dedicate quality time to

When the wise Karen Finerman declared, “I have been able to have a family and to dedicate quality time to my two sets of twins and my husband, as well as to serve on the boards of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and Montefiore Medical Center,” she spoke not only of her life, but of the eternal struggle and triumph of the human soul. For her words are a hymn to balance, a song of harmony between the sacred duty of the home and the noble call of service to the world. Few have the strength to embrace both, yet she has shown that it is possible to live fully in both spheres, and thus her statement resounds like an ancient oracle, urging us to strive for wholeness.

The ancients knew this truth well: that to be great in public life but absent in one’s hearth is a hollow victory, and that to guard the hearth but never serve the greater community is to bury one’s gifts. Finerman’s testimony is the living proof that one may weave both paths together, forming a tapestry where family and service are not rivals but allies. Her devotion to her twins and her husband reflects the eternal call to nurture those who share our blood and spirit. Yet her service to the boards of institutions devoted to healing — the Michael J. Fox Foundation and Montefiore Medical Center — reveals the heart of one who does not confine her gifts to her household, but offers them as a flame to illuminate the darkness of illness and despair.

We may recall the Roman matron Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi brothers. When asked where her jewels were, she pointed not to gold or pearls, but to her sons, declaring, “These are my treasures.” Yet her greatness was not only in raising sons, but in shaping their courage to serve the people of Rome. Thus she stands as a mirror to Finerman’s truth: that to raise a family and to labor for the good of the many is not two tasks, but one sacred mission. Both Cornelia and Finerman remind us that the private and the public are not opposed, but united under the law of love.

The words quality time echo like a warning and a promise. For the days of man are few, and though his hands may gather riches, his heart cannot recover lost hours. To spend time with one’s children and beloved is to plant seeds that will grow beyond one’s lifetime. And yet, Finerman also teaches us that this same time, when wisely ordered, can extend outward into works of mercy and justice. The boards she serves are not mere titles, but platforms to fight for cures, to support the suffering, and to give voice to those whose strength has been diminished by illness. This is the heroic balance of her creed.

What lesson, then, shall the future take from her? That greatness is not in choosing between family and service, but in learning to sanctify both. Too often the world whispers a false choice: either devote all to your kin or abandon them for glory. But Finerman answers with her life that the truest glory is found when love of family becomes the foundation for love of mankind. She has lived as the ancients taught: to master the art of balance is to master the art of life.

Practical steps lie before us all. Guard your time, for it is the only coin that cannot be minted anew. Give the best hours of your day to those you love most, not merely the weary remnants of your strength. Yet, carve out also a portion of your energy for service beyond your home. Whether through charity, mentorship, or the tending of the sick and poor, let your heart expand beyond the narrow circle of self. In this balance, your life will grow vast, like a tree that both shades its roots and offers fruit to the passerby.

Therefore, let us walk away with this commandment: cherish your family, honor your time, and extend your hand to the wider world. For the soul that can do both, as Karen Finerman has, achieves not only success but legacy. Such a soul becomes like the sun — rising each day to warm its household, yet stretching its rays far beyond, to touch even the forgotten and the weary. This is the path of true greatness, and it awaits each of us if only we are willing to walk it.