Whether we are prepared or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises and sunsets, no days, hours or minutes left. All the things we collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else. Our wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what we owned or what we were owed. Our grudges, resentments, frustrations, jealousies and vanities will finally disappear. So too, our 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 we came from or which part of the city we lived in, at the end. It won’t matter whether we were beautiful or brilliant. Even our gender, skin color, religion, caste, race and nationality will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? What yardstick will be used to measure the value of our time on earth?

What will matter is not what we bought but what we built, not what we got but what we gave.

What will matter is not our success but our significance.

What will matter is not what we learned but what we taught.

What will matter is not our competence but our character.

What will matter is not how many people we knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when we are gone.

What will matter is not our memories but the memories that live in those who loved us.

What will matter is how long we will be remembered, by whom and for what.

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate our example.

“Don’t look to become a person of success; look instead to become a person with values!” 

– Albert Einstein

“The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions.” 

– Chankaya

When we die, we leave intact all our monetary riches for others to desire and fight over. What stays behind is only the fragrance of the good use of the honest wealth — whether material wealth or wealth of knowledge — we acquire.

What we take with us are only our karma-s (actions), whether positive or negative, spiritual knowledge we gained and spiritual practices we did.

 The real measure of a man’s wealth is what he has invested in eternity.

Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Apply these principles and live. Let living be meaningful, truthful and an expression of joy.

Running water does not flow back.
Neither does Life!!

So make it count…..

 Choose to live a life that matters.