3/18/18

What Will Matter...

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end
There will be no more sunrises, not 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 irrevelance
It will not matter what you owed 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 come from or what side of the tracks you lived on at
the end
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant
Even your gender and skin color will be irrevelant
So what will matter?
How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you brought but what you build not what you got but
what you gave.
What will matter is not your success by 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 that live in those who love you
What will matter is how long you will be remembered that live in those who love you
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
Every test in our life makes us bitter or better, every problem comes to break us or make
us
The choice is ours whether we become victim or victor

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3/14/18

What Is Love?

It's silence when your words
Are only words and not any action
It is honesty when you show it
And not just talk about it
It's deafness when it comes from
An action that isn't true and only a show
It's courage when it's true and falls
Into the hands of action

By Jack M. Branch #R17203
Florida State Prison
P.O. Box 800
Raiford, Florida 32083-0800