What Matters?

So, what really matters? Who gets to say what's important and what's not? How often do we care about things because someone else told us we should? If someone states something is important, does that make it so?

Can something be important to one person and not at all to another? Absolutely. But who or what decides if it's important for everyone? Maybe what really matters is determined by each of us individually. Let's face it, we're easily influenced. Every day, we're told by other people what should matter to us. But why is that? Why do we succumb to it so quickly?

Do I matter? To me and to a few others, yes. Right now, in this moment, I think I matter. But if we look at the big picture of time and all the people who've ever lived, I'm just a tiny blip. And that's something we all have in common. I may matter, but I'm not important. 

Looking back, I've cared a lot about things that didn't matter to me. Why am I just now figuring this out? Why do we care so much about what other people think of us? If we have good relationships, why are we bothered so much by other's opinions of us that fall outside of that circle? I'm not going to live like that anymore. I reap what I sow, and things just are. So, why would it matter what others think of me in light of that? 

The real tension lies in what everyone agrees matters and what we each decide matters for ourselves. Stick to your values, treat people right, and then decide for yourself what's important. In the end, we don't leave much, if anything, behind. So why do we hold on to things so tightly, as if they matter when it's all said and done?

So here's the takeaway:

• Think for yourself.

• Decide what is important to you.

• Always try to do good for yourself and others.

That may be all that matters.