Wednesday, February 23, 2011

What Will Matter

I was reminding Yoga Kid about my favourite poem and she actually posted it on her blog last night. In lieu of anything original to write about tonight myself, I'm doing the same.

WHAT WILL MATTER

Michael Josephson

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.

2 comments:

  1. I started reading your blogs this evening, starting from your very first. After the second line I realized this poem is stored somewhere in the back of my mind, still memorized. It seems that some feelings and emotions are stored with it.

    On another note, I must say wow. Dawn your blogs are truly inspiring. Reading about your recovery, and trying to find your self makes me wonder how much I know my own self. You are forever learning new things, and improving your mind and spirit.

    Anonymous;)

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  2. hahaha suppose to be anonymous, but apparently E blogger knows my name. I thought I was being clever trying to make you guess.

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