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 collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
SO WHAT WILL MATTER?
How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success but your significance. What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.
What will matter is not your memories but the memories that live in those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.
© Michael Josephson
charactercounts.org
Simply beautiful. A bottom line truth that brought tears to my eyes. Not because I DON'T live this, but because I DO live what is most important. There is not a day that I am not grateful for those who love me, the mountains and birds in my yard, the food on my table and so much more.
ReplyDeleteFor me all that matters is loving EVERY single day, even those I meet at the store and don't know. I love to reach out with a smile, a hug, a gentle touch. The longer I live the more I see that all that REALLY matters to me is loving and giving, peace, compassion, forgiveness, joy and love.
I could have all the money in the world and all the things and without loving and giving I would feel so empty, nothing. I become full by filling others. It's that simple. My soul becomes rich and I feel worthy and loved in turn.
Thank you for inspiring me.
Robin
awesome how you perceive yourself to someone is what they will remember are you nice, a good listener, a helper someone who really cares that is what is important
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