What Will Matter

Micheal Josephson is the founder and president of the Josephson Institute of Ethics (www.josephsoninstitute.org) and CHARACTER COUNTS (http://charactercounts.org/), both dealing mainly with the mission to improve the ethical quality of society. Read more from the web links. They run character education classes in various schools throughout the US.

Anyway I was forwarded a poem written by Micheal Josephson and I think it clearly articulates the society as a whole at this point of time.

It strikes home to me as I've been contemplating on things... beyond playing music or saying things from the stage... organizing an event... or just sitting quietly at the corner slipping in and out and just observing... I think what really counts in my life is how can I personally be a positive effect on a person's life... it could be simple things said... or teaching someone something I know best... the list goes on... well more things to think about...

What Will Matter by Michal 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, frustrationsand 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 your 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.