Are you living a life that matters?
Here’s a poem I really appreciate. I first shared it with readers in one of my newsletters and attributed it to “author unknown.” Thanks to alert reader Alice LaChapelle, I can now share it again and give correct attribution to Michael Josephson, founder and president of the Josephson Institute of Ethics which helped organize the Character Counts Coalition. Thanks Alice and Michael!
What Will Matter?
Michael Josephson
Live a life that matters.
Ready or not, someday 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, mean spirit 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 on what side of the tracks you lived, 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, love
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.
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Are you living a life that matters?…
nice…..
Trackback by blonde-loquita — August 3, 2006 @ 9:16 pm
“A life that matters” is a catchy phrase, but what exactly does it mean? Different things to different people, probably. To me it means being honorable in one’s dealings with others, being friendly, courteous, helpful when needed, and generally being a person of good character and conduct. In this way we are a force for good in the world, and in so being we live a life that matters.
Respectfully submitted, William B. Bell, Jr.
Comment by William B. Bell, Jr. — August 25, 2006 @ 2:41 pm