What Will Matter

by Michael Josephson

Ready or not, some day it will 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 to 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 whethere 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 are gone

What will matter is not your memories but the memories of those who loved you

What will matter is how long you will be remembered by who 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.