Suppose, monk, there was a great stone mountain a yojana long, a yojana wide, and a yojana high, without holes or crevices, one solid mass of rock. At the end of every hundred years a man would stroke it once with a piece of fine cloth. That great stone mountain might by this effort be worn away and eliminated but the eon would still not have come to an end. So long is an eon, monk.
SN 15:5; II 181–82
The time scales discussed in tune Pali canon often seen to get glossed over by my Western Buddhist friends but the simile above should show clearly just how frighteningly immense is the chasm of samsara.
I feel that my practice has really waned over the last few years for a number of reasons. Yet, simply acknowledging the preciousness of this life as well as the possibility for being lost for eons is as a good a motivator as there ever was.
One of my most influential kalyanamitta just went with as a samanera after years of sitting on the fence and I am happy to say that I feel true muditā for him. It is still, however, a wake up call for me. In the intervening years I have spent more time feeding my defilements and chasing sense pleasures than I have earnestly practicing the Dhamma and it shows.
May I never lose sight of the Dhamma and may I always make use of all circumstances to train for release.
Cattāri Brahmavihārā 
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