What Will Matter

[Veronica]

Poem for the day.


What Will Matter

By 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 have 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 have 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 of 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.

[Veronica]

My friend Joyce sent this poem to me today. I didn't read it until I got home.

It made me think of rocknrollgirl. It's the kind of life your mom lived I think.

V.

[emily_in_nc]

Wow. Thanks for posting this very moving poem, Veronica.

I immediately thought of my father when I read this. He was a professor and touched SO many lives. He was well-respected by his colleagues and professional peers in the architectural community and beloved by his wide circle of friends and family members.

He really did live a life that mattered.

In honor of my dear daddy, Robert P. Burns (1933-2005),

Emily

[DirtDiva]

Me too. My dad was, quite simply, a good man.

[Zen]

My wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance?
No, not my temporal power!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

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

This is the one that got me.

[rocknrollgirl]

As my students would say.......word.

[Crankin]

Veronica, this was a really good poem for me to read the night before my last day of teaching. It puts everything into perspective.

[Bikingmomof3]

Veronica,
Thank you for posting this beautiful poem. There were many truths in there I needed to hear today. Thank you.

[Trek420]

Me too. My dad was, quite simply, a good man.

Mine too. 1919 - 2004

Lifts a toast, to our parents.

[Tuckervill]

What a wonderful picture! I like him.

My dad is 72 and we just spent a weekend kayaking on the Buffalo River with him. It's not whitewater or anything, but can be dangerous. He flipped out of his kayak twice and went floating down river, but he's quite a tuffy. He's also the biggest goofball you'll ever want to meet. I will have many many good memories of him, and that IS what matters.

Karen

[DDH]

Great poem. These always make me sit and ponder my life and whether I am living right or not.

[emily_in_nc]

What a wonderful picture! I like him.

My dad is 72 and we just spent a weekend kayaking on the Buffalo River with him. It's not whitewater or anything, but can be dangerous. He flipped out of his kayak twice and went floating down river, but he's quite a tuffy. He's also the biggest goofball you'll ever want to meet. I will have many many good memories of him, and that IS what matters.

Karen

Karen,

How wonderful that you can do things like that with your dad! Mine died at age 71 and I'd hoped to have many more years with him. I regret so much not spending more time with him now. You always think you'll have more time. I know now that we all need to live like we might not.

Emily

[Ninabike]

Veronica, thank you for posting. I like listening to Michael Josephson's "Character Counts" on our local KNX radio station.