A life that matters

Here is a resolution for the new year... It was given to me by a good friend of mine and I would like to share it with readers of The Times.

Let us resolve to live a life that matters.

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no sunrise, 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 no longer matter what you owned or what you where 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 track you lived, at the end. It won't matter whether you where beautiful or brilliant. Even your skin colour and your gender 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 people 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 is not a matter of circumstance but of choice.

Choose to live a life that matters.