Choosing a Life that Matters

LIFE THAT MATTERS

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 to, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It wont matter where you came from or what side
of the tracks you lived on at the end.
It wont matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin colour will be irrelevant.
So what will matter?
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 are 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 a life that matters."

via So She Tells You