Worth and choice

From the dedication of The Chosen, by Chaim Potok:
"True happiness
Consists not in the multitude of friends,
But in the worth and choice."
Ben Johnson

and also from The Chosen,
David Malter speaking to his son, Reuven:
"Human beings do not live forver, Reuven. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So it may be asked what value is there to a human life. There is so much pain in the world,. What does it mean to have to suffer so much if our lives are nothing more than the blink of an eye?" He paused again, his eyes misty now, then went on. "I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Do you understand what I am saying? A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life. It is hard work to fill one's life with meaning. That I do not think you understand yet. A life filled with meaning is worthy of rest. I want to be worthy of rest when I am no longer here. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Yes, I understand; something like this.

(and, if you haven't read The Chosen, oh! Such a good coming of age story and such a good illustration of friendship!)