Pasted below is the English verse and the Chinese translation of "Live a life that matters" in a PowerPoint slides forwarded to me by a friend.
It is so well written, thought provoking, and inspiring. Therefore I looked up the title of the verse in the google, and found that the author is an ethicist and a daily commentator on ethics and characters, Michael Josephson, a former law professor and attorney who founded the nonprofit Joseph and Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics--named after his parents, also a Board Member of the Basketball Coaches Foundation. (Born 1942~ ). I do not know when this piece was written, but the subject has been quoted 47 million times in the google thus far!!
The Chinese translation by YY Tseng is just as good. (I guess PPS maker also translated.)
But after watching it a few times, I feel like commenting or adding some thoughts to it.
We do not always need to be remembered by someone to whom we have given something memorable, valuable, or important.
Just imagine, when there are grieving mothers and their children in persistent hunger and discomfort, and you helped them out of the misery. The smiles appeared on the little faces and they looked happier. Do you need to be remembered by them that you were the benefactor?
No, we do not. The innocent smiling faces and the happiness and the relief the mothers must have felt would be ample rewards for us. We do not really have to be remembered or be recognized by anyone for the genuine good deeds coming out of our hearts. The warmth and satisfaction inside us would stay for a long time. And that would be more than sufficient for us. It would be our private, secret gratification!
That humane behavior, the altruistic impulse in our spirit, originated from the basic instinct that is required to keep human race going. And that is the most important character that differentiates us from other animals. That is, in general.
One would think that if we had been wealthier, or in a higher position, we could have helped more people. In reality, not every rich or powerful man helps. Many of us are still selfish and greedy. Does the good human nature need nurturing? Or is it inherently distinct in each individual, as it is in the case of IQ?
Both the selfishness and selflessness are human instincts, I believe, one for the survival of the individual and the other for the perpetuation of the race. Perhaps as the human race become more civilized, the remembrance and the praise by others of one’s good deeds also becomes a necessity to encourage more from someone who needs it.
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Live a life that matters
[by Michael Josephson]
Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, 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 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 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 tracks you lived, at the end.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant
Even your gender and skin colour 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 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's not a matter of circumstance, but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters. [Original verse ends here.]
While you meet something beautiful, the first thing you should do is to share it with your friends anywhere,
so that these beautiful things will be able to spread literally around the world.
Live a life that matters 有意義的人生。
[PPS by YYTseng, 08-09-14 ]
不管你是否有心理準備，人生總有盡頭。
當時刻到來，你就不再有分分秒秒，也沒有晨昏晝夜，
你所收集的事物，將珍藏或已遺忘的，終將傳讓他人。
無論擁有財富、名望及權力，都將無用，
無論欠人或被欠，都將不再重要，
嫉妒、怨恨、挫折或猜忌終將消失。
同樣的，你擁有的希望、抱負、計畫、與執行的細節都將終止，
曾經看來是重要的輸贏大事都將隨之褪色消失，
從何處而來或在何處留下足跡，到頭來已不重要。
你是否美麗動人或明耀照人並不重要，
甚至性別或膚色也將沒有關係。
什麼事情是重要的？人的價值要如何衡量？
重要的不是購買什麼，而是建造什麼；
不是得到什麼，而是給了什麼。
重要的不是自己的成功，而是做了哪些對人有助益的事。
重要的不是自己學到什麼，而是教導了別人什麼。
重要的是對每件事使盡全力、心懷悲憫、充滿勇氣、或奉獻犧牲，讓其他人因此更富裕、更有能力、或受到鼓舞。
重要的不是能力，而是優良的品格。
重要的不是認識多少人，而是走後能讓多少人深深懷念。
重要的不是留下聲名，而是在愛您的人心中留有多少回憶。
重要的是能留在人們記憶中的時間有多長，是什麼樣的作為使人難以忘懷。
快樂的生活並非來自偶然，也非命中註定，而是自己一連串的選擇。
選擇有意義的人生吧！[原文終於此句，以下是幻燈片上的文句。]
當你遇見美好的事物時所要做的第一件事，就是要把它分享給你四周的人。
才能讓這些美好的事物確確實實的傳播到世界各角落。
