Spiritual & Inspirational Sunday August 30, 2009

Welcome to my Spiritual & Inspirational Sunday post. For over twenty-five years I have collected various spiritual and  inspirational quotes and messages. My hope is that when you read these, you will pause and reflect. Perhaps you will share this with a friend who just so happens to be in need of reading what I am sharing today.

Below is something I picked up somewhere along the way. I don’t know if it was in a magazine, newspaper, or in an email forward. I found it in the drawer where I put quotes, articles, poems, emails, etc. that I run across and save. Fortunately, this one had the author’s name. 

When I turned 40 years old, I did not dread it or think twice about it. But out of nowhere, a voice began to appear in my head. A voice that would say to me-“You’re 40 now and you don’t have to put up with THAT”  You’re 40 now and you no longer have to do THAT.”  You’re 40 now and you don’t have to worry about THAT.”  “That” being something that annoyed me, I thought was required of me, or caused me pressure.  For me, turning 40 was freeing. It was a right of passage into acceptance of who I am. 

So, as I approached 50, another voice came into my head. All of a sudden I was questioning my life. I kept thinking to myself, “Ok, you’re going to be 50, what kind of imprint have you left on this world? What is your legacy?” I knew I had given birth and raised two outstanding children which gave me great pride and joy. But I still questioned myself about what else have I done to give back? What have I done to make the world a better place? What can I still do at this point in my life? It was during this period of personal self exploration that I decided I could make this world a better place by sharing the knowledge and experience I had gained and the lessons I had learned through remodeling and consulting on homes. I could make a difference in lives of people who are going through the process of building or remodeling; save a marriage, save time and money, empower the homeowner, and reduce stress.  I could make a difference by preventing a mistake that would long haunt someone living in their dream home; a mistake that would be present for the life of that home and for all who happen to live there. Yes, writing a book, (Designing Your Dream Home) would be one of my contributions in making this world a better place. So I embarked on the journey of becoming a published author. That was realized in April of 2008. As a result of writing this book, I am now blogging and hopefully my posts will continue in the same spirit in which I wrote my book. Have you thought about the legacy or imprint you will leave behind? 

What Will Matter

By Michael Josephson

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.

There will be no more sunrises, no days, no hours, or minutes.

All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else.

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevant.

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 all expire.

The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.

It won’t matter where you come from, or on what side of the tracks you lived.

It won’t matter whether you are beautiful or brilliant.

Your gender, skin color, ethnicity 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 and 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 knew you, 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’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters. 

Blessings.  …susan