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 poeple 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 is not a matter of circumstances

but of choice.

Choose to live a life that matters.