Light Circle - What matters most...

As I look at myself today, I see a woman with different priorities than I had when I was young. The things that I thought mattered to me, no longer matter to me... although, I would still like a 2-seater convertible BMW!!

Recently, I read an anonymous poem called "Live a Life That Matters." The poem begins, "Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end. Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away."

So, knowing that I'm in the last leg of my journey and that the sunrises and sunsets I have left to enjoy are fewer, I am much more inclined to ask myself, what really does matter? What will matter will be not what I got, but what I gave. What will matter will not be my success, but my significance. What matters is not what I learned, but what I taught. What matters is that I live with integrity, compassion, and generosity to enrich and encourage others.

What matters is that I am fully present in my daughters' and grandchildren's lives without being distracted by my preoccupation with the acquisition of material possessions, status, and reputation. These things that mattered when I was younger no longer do.

Now, I want to appreciate my family and friends without needing to define, judge or critique them. I want to strive to enjoy them unconditionally with no strings attached. This is what profiting from life experience truly means. This is truly an existential opportunity. It is a time in our lives when we accept for the first time our own mortality, and in doing so, are free to love life without being burdened by our perceived expectations of others.

Knowing what matters most to me is the 'gift of gifts" and I am giving it to myself as my 73rd year approaches. When we live a conscious life, embracing self-awareness and self-love, age does not matter. So, what matters most to you in life?

With Gratitude,

Elaine