PARADOXICAL

WHAT WILL MATTER?

ready or not, some day
it will all come to an end
there will be no more surprises
no minutes, hours, or days

all the things you collected
whether treasured or forgotten
will pass on 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, 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.
not your success, but your significance
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
not how many people you knew but how many people
will feel a lasting loss when you're gone
not your memories but the memories
that live in those who loved you
living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident
it's not a matter of circumstance
but of choice to live a life that matters

as sent by eddie lacson [1537]

**
death is really nothing
it is a mere bridge
to another world
we have never seen
as beautiful or as ugly
as how we were in life

eastwind [1532]

**
the soldier says
get them by the balls
and their hearts and minds will follow
the missionary says
get their hearts and minds
and their balls will follow

excerpt from an old movie [1531]

posted by Resty Odon  # 6:59 PM