Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you have collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass on to someone else. Your wealth, fame, and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear, so to your hopes and ambitions. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your skin color will be irrelevant.
So what will matter? How will the value of our days be measured?
What will matter is not what we bought but what we built.
Not what we got but what we gave.
What will matter is not our success but our significance.
Not what we learned but what we taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion and valor that encouraged others to do the same.
What will matter is not our competence but our character.
Not how many people we know but how many will feel a lasting loss when we are gone.
What will matter is not our memories but the memories of those who loved us.
What will matter is how long we will be remembered by whom and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident.
It is not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose a life that matters.
2 comments:
Hi Joan,
This reminds me so much of my friend that died recently. She had very little money, no family left, but she had friends, Ah, she had so many friends, because she lived her life being thankful for them and what she did have. Thanks for reminding me of Lillian.
Darlene
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