You Matter

Sometimes there are no answers for why things happen the way they do.  No answers for tragedies. No answers for why the "good ones" leave us all to soon. 

I lost a cousin yesterday.  She died suddenly.  She had breast cancer and didn't know it and flew out over the holidays to see her brothers family in Vegas and the cancer spread rapidly.  So rapidly she was in a coma by January 2nd.  Her doctors were struggling to find answers on what would cause her to deteriorate.  I can't even try to wrap my mind around this one.  I can only pray that her family takes comfort. Her death taught me about how precious life is and how even a healthy lifestyle isn't enough. We really do need to put ourselves first sometimes and seek preventative care.  I have nothing else to say...except this...

Live a life that matters


Ready or not, someday 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 on 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 colour 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 you're 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.