 |
| 'detail' of a painting i painted |
"For each of us, eventually, whether you are ready or not, someday 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 or temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or owed, your grudges, resentments or jealousies will finally disappear. So too your ambitions, plans and to do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seem so important will fade away.
It won't matter what side of the track you lived in. It won't matter if you are beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and your skin color will be irrelevant.
So, what will matter is: how the value of your day will 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 lost when you are gone. What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.
A life lived that matters is not of circumstances… but of choice."
written by my sister
