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生命中到底什么最重要？是金钱，是地位，是名誉，是你远大的志向，还是对家人的关爱？

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no days, no hours or minutes. 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 all 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.

It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Your gender, skin color, ethnicity 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 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 of 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.

参考译文

什么最重要

无论你是否已经准备好，那一天终会走到尽头。那时，太阳将不会再升起，时间将会终止。你所聚集的一切，无论是你铭记于心的，还是已经忘却的，都将流入他人之手。

无论是你拥有的，还是别人赋予你的，你的财富，你的名利，和你一时的权利都将与你不再相干。

你的怨恨、憎恶、挫折和嫉妒将最终消失。

与此同时，你的希望，你的抱负，你的计划和你的日程安排也都将终止。那些看起来曾经很重要的成功与失败也将慢慢地失去色彩。

你从哪里来，你的生活轨迹是什么，这些都不重要。

你是否美丽聪明不重要，你的性别、肤色和种族也毫不相干。

那么，什么重要？该如何衡量你有生之年的价值？

重要的事情不在于你买了什么东西，而是在于你创造了什么东西；不在于你得到了什么，而是你给予了什么。

重要的事情不在于你的成功，而在于你生命的意义。

重要的事情不在于你学会了什么，而在于你传授了什么。

重要的不是你的能力，而是你的性格。

重要的事情不在于你认识多少人，而是在你离开的时候多少人会认为这是永远的缺憾。

重要的不是你的记忆，而是那些爱你的人的记忆。

重要的是你会被记住多久，被谁记住，为什么记住。

度过一个有意义的一生并非是件偶然的事。

这不取决于你的环境，而取决于你的选择。

选择有意义的生活吧！

词汇释义

1. temporal 暂时的

2. shrivel （使）起褶皱，（使）枯萎

The seedling have shrivel up a bit in the hot sun.
在炎热的太阳光下，幼苗已有一点乾枯。

3. irrelevance 不相干，不恰当

4. grudge 憎恨，怨恨

He grudged me my success.
他嫉妒我成功。

5. resentment 怨恨，愤恨

He shows no resentment towards anyone.
他对任何人都无怨恨。

6. ethnicity 种族划分

相关格言

Life should be lived with meaning and don't waste your life on meaningless things.

生命应当过得有意义一些，不要把你的生命浪费在无意义的事情上面。

What will matter? It is such a difficult question. It's worth thinking. And when you find the answer, you find the meaning of your life.

生命中什么最重要？这个问题很难回答，也值得我们仔细思考。当你找到答案的时候，你也就找到了生活的意义。