What Matters Most
Reading has always been one of my favorite hobbies. I am very grateful that, at this stage of my life, I have the gift of time to do more of it. My genres of choice are historical fiction and spiritual reading. While self-help books and how-to manuals are not a favorite subject, the following gift from my sweet daughter is a combination of those types and much more.
The Fourth Quarter of Your Life, embracing what matters most, is an easy-to-read, gem of a book, co-authored by Allen Hunt and Matthew Kelly. It could easily be retitled Every Quarter of Your Life. I wish I had discovered the wisdom and practical advice contained within its pages many decades ago. The questions and exercises are designed to help you thrive and live life to the fullest in the fourth quarter of your life. Not quite there yet? Rest assured this book’s content is totally pertinent to wherever you are in the cycle of life. The goal of this book is to “identify what matters most to you and learn how to place what matters most at the center of your life.”
In case you were wondering…Yes, I highly recommend this book. If you are now in the fourth quarter of your life (ages 61 to 80), pick up not only your own copy but please consider making it part of your fourth quarter mission to share this book with someone younger. Make this book your own and it could turn into your personal God Story and a spiritual legacy.
Here is a sampling of some of my favorite chapter titles:
It’s Time to Find Your No
What’s Your Story? (Family will appreciate your completing this guided autobiography!)
Living Meaningfully in a Trivial Culture
Don’t Leave a Mess
Every Family Needs a Prayerful Giant
I found the following quotes worth repeating:
Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been. ~ David Bowie, singer, song writer and actor
It stands to reason that anyone who learns to live well will die well. The skills are the same: being present in the moment, and humble, and brave, and keeping a sense of humor. ~ Victoria Moran, author
While you are alive, feel and know that you are alive. When you are feeling sorry for yourself about what you used to be able to do, do something new. ~ Mother Teresa, Saint, and author
You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt, as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear, as young as your hope, as old as your despair. ~ Douglas MacArthur, military leader, and General of the Army for the United States
At the end of life, what really matters is not what we bought, but what we built; not what we got, but what we shared; not our competence, but our character; and not our success, but our significance. Live a life that matters. Live a life of love. ~ Anonymous
Here are a few of the book’s thought-provoking assignments (these are still on my “to-do” list):
List 5 qualities you would like your family to embrace for the next thousand years and beyond.
List five holy moments that have had a lasting impact on your life.
What do you want to celebrate in this season of your life?
For the next 21 days, write down the one thing you sense God is saying to you.
List some people, places and things that energize you; list those that drain your energy.
And finally, enjoy The Prayer of Transformation (found on page 167 of 212):
Loving father, here I am.
I trust that you have an incredible plan for me.
Transform me. Transform my life.
Everything is on the table.
Take what you want to take and give what you want to give.
Transform me into the person you created me to be, so I can live the life you envision for me.
I hold nothing back; I am 100 percent available.
How can I help? Amen.
May God bless and inspire you in every quarter of your life!
