Sunday, August 03, 2008

Choose to Live a Life that Matters

"What Really 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 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.”

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Life should be a bowl of cherries. Someone will like them and the memories of them will linger for years.

Carl H. Sr. said...

Good Morning Patty,
That is a fine thought for starting the day. And the way to live life as I see it too.
I tell my children and my friends that your actions are like ripples when you throw a stone in a pond. The good that you do passes to others besides just the person you help.(with a smile,a door held open,a cheerful attitude,a caring word.....)

Kelly Ann said...

You always have the best stuff, such heartwarming reads. :)

Wanda said...

Excellent words for a Sunday Morning Patty ~~

I have a friend that has spent her life doing those things that matter, and one day she said to me ~~~
"Wouln't it be awful if at the end of your life, all you had done is collect "toys" and had nothing of eternal value to leave behind."

I thougt if was a great quote as your article says, what are we collecting....??? And what is it really worth???

Love and Hugs dear friend
Wanda

Renie Burghardt said...

Such thought provoking advice, Patty. Thank you for sharing this great reminder of what really matters.

Now, I have to hit the sack, cause I'm pooped.

Good night!

Renie

Tomate Farcie said...

Great thoughts for starting the week, thank you.

raccoonlover1963/Lisa Myers said...

Words of wisdom. Well put.
Lisa

Merle said...

Dear Patty ~~ Great post and a very important message for us all.
Thank you for your comments and I didn't know you had that award already. I hope you are able to keep your leg propped up as much as possible to get your leg right and strong again. Take great care, my
friend, Love, Merle.

Nancy said...

How very true!!! Loved this one!!! I keep preaching to my kids that everything is just "stuff" period! All the things my mother had saved all her life is gone! No one wanted all her junk or stuff. Same goes for us as we grow older. I am tossing my junk away a little at a time! I hate the thought of putting my kids through what I went through sorting and going through my mom's treasures. They were treasures to her, but only her. Same goes for our treasures.

Will read more later. Have to run to my daughter's now to give Buster his anti-nausea pill...he had his second round of chemo on Monday, and she doesn't get home from work til around 9-9:30 every night. So I am off to take care of Buster!

(((((( HUGS ))))))