by Michael Josephson
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
and jealousies will finally disappear.
So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans,
and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and loses
that once seemed so important
will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from
or on what side of the track 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,
what you built, not what you got,
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 encourage others
to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competencies
but your character.
What will matter is not how many people know you
but how many will feel a lasting loss
when you are gone.
What will matter is not your memories
but the memories that lived 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 isn't a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.