The 3 Things that Matter Most in Life
In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go?” Buddha
It can sound morbid but these 3 questions could be what we think of when we are on our deathbed. Imagine being on our deathbeds and regretting that we did not live our lives in line with our priorities. Hence, rather than wait till near the end, let’s think about what things are important to us – today!
Most certainly, reflecting over this quote got me thinking about the vision that I’d like to create, how I’d like to live my life and what to focus on. I first came across the 3 questions some 10 years ago and since then, answering them have had a big impact on the choices I have made. For instance, I would not have placed that much attention on releasing emotional baggage so much so that I help others with this now, nor would have spent time on being present with the people I love and care about.
With this, I’d like to invite you to reflect on the questions coz they could similarly have an impact on you. I found that the 3 main questions led to further questions for consideration…
How well did you love?
Did you love unconditionally, without judgment and blame?
Did you love despite your partner saying something harsh to you? Were you present with your loved ones?
Did you touch others in both small and big ways?
How committed were you to improving your relationships?
Were you there for your loved ones whenever they needed support, or were you busy all the time with your own activities?
Did you schedule time for the loves you love?
How well you love others is also influenced by how well you love yourself. For most of us, we are our greatest enemy. We tend to be our harshest critic. Very often, the stories that we tell about ourselves are negative, limiting and debilitating. We become depleted when our tank becomes empty.
On the contrary, when our tank is full and we are feeling loved and nourished from the inside, we are likely to find an increased capacity to love others. We are better able to empathise. We are able to love more deeply.
And so, if you go through life without experiencing self-love, you’d have missed out on the “greatest love of all”. How well did you love as one of the 3 most important questions to ask lets you in that you are capable of loving well. You begin to see that there are more opportunities to love in bigger and better ways. You love yourself and you love others – from the center of your heart.
How fully did you live?
Did you pursue your vision/dreams/ideas relentlessly?
Did you do all the things that you said that you wanted to do?
Were you fully present?
Did you live with purpose?
Did you do all that it took to manifest your dream? What was your effort like?
How many items on your bucket list did you check off?
I believe that the greatest tragedy is to die with regrets. You leave this life, regretting that you did not value the opportunities that were available. It has been said that when you about to die, the ghosts of all your unfulfilled dreams or potential will appear.
They are unhappy with you and asking “why did you not pursue the dreams that you have? The ideas were handed out to you and you did not take action. We will now have to go to the grave with you!”
A reader who had read my post on going to the grave with ideas left unpursued, said that it hit her hard. Similarly, Wayne Dyer once said, don’t die with your music still inside you. Should reading this jolt you too, it’s time to get cracking on manifesting your ideas into fruition!
How deeply did you let go?
Did you release your emotional baggage as much as you could?
Did you forgive unconditionally?
Did you let go of the things you cannot control or did you always need to be in control?
Were you able to let go of the hurts and pain that someone inflicted on you?
How committed were you in letting go of the past or were you always waiting for the perfect time?
To let go is to release all that no longer serves you.
It can sound like a paradox…to live fully and to let go at the same time. At first, I was confused: does this mean that we let go of our desires too? As I began to reflect, I reached a deeper understanding…
Living fully and letting go does not mean that we let go of our goals and dreams. On the contrary, we should still pursue them. We cannot deny our human desires, and there are things in life that we’d like to have, dreams that we would like to strive for. Our desires fuel us, and we feel motivated to work towards our goals.
While on this journey, we work on letting go of our blocks, beliefs and stuff that do not serve us. To carry them will only slow us down or prevent us from achieving success. We free ourselves from the burdens that hold us back from living our best life!
The 3 Questions That Matter Most
How well did you love?
How fully did you live?
How deeply did you let go?
These 3 questions lie at the heart of living a spiritual life. The things that matter most are not material possessions or how big your bank account is. Don’t get me wrong. They are likely to be important as they can affect your standard of living. But of greatest importance is whether you have truly loved, lived and let go. These 3 considerations potentially drives your vision, purpose and all that you do in priority.
If you’d like to live a life that matters, think about these 3 important questions today. Share your thoughts, comments and takeaways in the comment section below. I’d love to read them!
Love and abundance always,
Evelyn
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