“Life is a song – sing it. Life is a game – play it. Life is a challenge – meet it. Life is a dream – realize it. Life is a sacrifice – offer it. Life is love – enjoy it.” ~ Sai Baba
“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” ~ Charles Darwin
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
“A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master –gardener of his soul, the director of his life.” ~ James Allen
“It is not length of life, but depth of life.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
I recently attended a funeral for the father of very, very dear friend. Although I had only met her father once, by the end of it I certainly had a much better appreciation for who he was and the life he lived and shared with his family and friends.
I was reminded of my own mortality, the value of life, and in particular a tribute I shared at my own father’s funeral several years ago. I would like to share this with you this week as a reminder of what matters in life.
Ready or not, someday it will come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, or 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, on what side of the tracks you lived,
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 sacrifices
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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