What Will Matter by Meisiekind
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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
A friend sent me this today. Here is just a short extract. It touched me deeply.
"Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire.
What will matter then, 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."
Image: Namibia, March 2009, Postwork in CS4.

Comments (48)
Fantastic tones and depth. Looks superb!!
gorgeous!!!
wow stunning ! absolutely love it ..and the poem is very touching :)
Wonderful image to go along with the superb wisdom is your friends prose
The road ahead--full of light and love and promise. You are on the right path, and you have friends and love and a world full of people who care. I am with you every step of the way.
Completely agree...and lets hope people are on the right path that leads them to a decent future not some self centered ego trip for their next lifetime.
Wonderful image !
This is true words and so is the Image that fits so beautifully to them. Deep in side we know this, but some of us forget it, because it is not the most easy way, but in the end it is the most happy way. For our self and for the people we leave behind. Let us exert ourself on doing it the happy way. :-D
A very thoughtful combination of photo and prose. Even alone, your picture conveys the message perfectly.
Strong words and a beautiful image!
A perfectly matched pair.
Very artistic looking !!
In the and of this gray path there is the start of the new light world!! Ecpellent spiritual compo, nice poem too!!! Thanks!!! :)
Great shot!
Wow, certsinly true & makes you think, great pic to go with words!!!!
Fascinating Image!
fantastic image, and many lessons to be learnt from the words
This shot is masterful and comes from a place few can touch...the bottom of your heart and the center of your soul. An astounding piece of artwork. Your words under it are good ones, but this shot doesn't need a whisper behind it to make it speak to me.
This photo can be viewed two ways: Looking back on where we've been or looking forward to where we're going. It is really up to us which direction we need to be heading. as a hint though, ask Orpheus or Lot's wife what happens if you look back... The words are moving and I can see how they can touch your soul.
OUTSTANDING, POWERFUL WORK!!!!!!!!!!!
The photo is a knockout presented in your special way. The words are true. Together they really make one contemplate one's own life. Thanks Carin:) You're the best...
Excellent photography Carin, and very wise words your friend writes too! hugs Jane xx
superb work!!
Transcendent, a perfect partner to your friend's words. We all end up the same. There is a song by Fred Smalls titled 'Everything Possible'. It includes the following; "...the only measure of your words and your deeds will be the love you leave behind when you're done." Something in that. Thank you for sharing.
to your friend's moving words I add, may it happen here & now...from the little that I know of you, you give a great deal everyday, and that's your lasting monument here & now. Beautiful postwork on an image that photographers seek over & over, ie, tapering disappearing railroad tracks. I've seen them done often, but only occasionally done with depth (as they are here). Your piece has beautiful hues, it's b&w but has deep blue-green tones; fine detail in the stones & ground; and a beautiful treatment of the far land, its hills & then the sky. Your light at end isn't garish, as many of us might make it, but gentle & inviting instead. I like that the tracks have no ties, no cross planks, and that they shine uniformly into the distance; and the sky has just the right amount of speckle...Fine picture to accompany the quote. I wish you much uplift this year...
Being short of time, as is usually the norm in my case, I will echo all the comments that have preceded mine vis-a-vis this terrific capture and narrative, Carin.
A very moving poem to go with this super capture.
Wow Carin, those words could be real life changers and what an appropriate image.
I love this. The vanishing point is fantastic, and the light is gorgeous. Nobody does it like you, skat!
Great work and words, Carin. Breath! Clive