Holiday Letter from Michael Josephson of the Josephson Institute

[rabid_nerd]

My emphasis added...
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This personal note is sent to subscribers of Michael Josephson`s
commentary newsletter. If you don`t know who I am, don`t care or
simply don`t have the time or interest to read my year-end personal
musings, please just delete this e-mail.

Dear Friend,

It`s hard to believe another year has gone by. I don`t know if I`m
any wiser, but I sure feel older. Though I suppose I should be
slowing down as I approach Social Security age, my life has
accelerated and I am struggling to keep up. With four young but
fast-growing children (ages 6-11) still living at home (my son
Justin has been liberated for some time) and a vibrant wife absorbed
in establishing her new gymnastics center, the demands and blessings
of parenting and husbanding have increased rather dramatically. At
the same time, the Josephson Institute and CHARACTER COUNTS! have
never been busier. The projects are not only more numerous, they
are more complicated (and, I think, more important). I often feel
like a juggler trying to keep a half a dozen plates spinning. And
no matter what time my day ends I have to focus on writing a short
essay I turn into a radio commentary. (I started this note at 2 A.M.)

This is not a complaint so much as a blatant appeal for sympathy.
How can I complain when both my home and work lives give me so
much pleasure and fulfillment? Still, I couldn`t let the year end
without a personal note to you. Some question how personal a note
can be if it`s sent to more than 54,000 subscribers. Well, strange
as it seems, I truly feel a personal bond with anyone who has listened
to or read my commentaries for any length of time. I feel a true level
of intimacy with those who care to read my musings and these personal
notes.

1. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT
First I want to thank all of you who sent in donations or purchased
merchandise to help support the Josephson Institute`s mission. Of
course, the financial support is much needed, but the moral support
that goes along with any contribution encourages and uplifts me, and
I am truly grateful.

2. UPDATE ON LAUREN
Many of you have asked about and written to Lauren, my long-time
chief of staff and good friend. She and I both thank you. She is
going through a very rough patch, but while she`s not working (and
her prodigious talents are missed enormously) she is up and around
and is spending productive and enjoyable time with her husband Mike
and other friends and relatives. She says it is the first time in her
life when she`s had so much time to do just what she wants. I know
you join me in wishing her well.

3. YEAR IN REVIEW
This weekend I will be working on a list of the most significant
and the most underplayed ethics stories of 2004. We will be sending
out the list and my comments on it to the media before the end of
the year. If you`d like a copy e-mailed to you just reply to this
e-mail with "Ethics List 2004" in the subject box.

4. SPECIAL HOLIDAY NOTES
One of this week`s commentaries speaks of my special appreciation
for the Christmas spirit and my dismay that a phony, media-hyped
controversy that tries to pit Christians against non-Christians
regarding the use of Christmas signs and greetings. I think we
all should be unified in preserving and promoting the core message
of Christmas -- love, charity and good will toward all. In that
context, I enthusiastically wish all my Christian friends a very
Merry Christmas! It is especially important and appropriate to
express our love, support and appreciation for all the people in
the military (and civilians supporting the military mission) who
will be spending this Christmas away from home. Many of them are
very much in harm`s way and we simply can`t say or do enough to
support them. I also want to say that I know that the holiday
season is not joyous for everyone. If your life does not seem
to be going well or you feel alone, all the joy around you can
be a source of depression. I don`t know any magic words that can
change this but I do know that life has inevitable cycles. Sometimes
we have no choice but to endure the down cycles. But I believe with
all my heart that if we don`t surrender to our gloom or
disappointment it is only a matter of time before the up cycle
brings warmth and sunshine.

5. TROUBLES IN IRAQ
I get in trouble and lose a handful of readers every time I say
anything either critical or supportive about what`s going on in
Iraq, but in the context of a personal letter, I feel a need to
express my great concern and dismay at the continuing deaths and
injuries and the complete absence of a realistic exit strategy. I
am dumbfounded and angry that with the hundreds of billions of
dollars we`ve spent already, and with all the advanced technology
we have, our government has not been able to provide our fighting
forces with the most sophisticated and safe equipment possible. I am
amazed that there has been no national uproar about recent revelations
of our failure to provide even basic armor protection to those who
risk their lives every day in Humvees and other vehicles. Where`s
the outrage?

6. WHAT WILL MATTER
I want to close my personal note on a personal note. The most
comprehensive statement I`ve ever made on the meaning and purpose
of life is the poem "What Will Matter." I will read it on the air
before the New Year and you can download a nice color version from
our website here:
http://www.charactercounts.org/pdf/whatwillmatter-1203.pdf
But for now, I want to close my last personal communication of the
year with this poem. Please accept my most sincere gratitude for
staying with me this far and my best wishes that you have a healthy,
happy and fulfilling 2005.

With love and devotion, I remain sincerely yours,
Michael

WHAT WILL MATTER
By Michael Josephson © 2003

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
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 expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won`t matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you
lived on at the end.
It won`t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color 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 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 your gone.
What will matter is not your memories but the memories that
live in 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.

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Related:
http://www.jiethics.org/
http://www.charactercounts.org/knxtoc.htm
http://www.charactercounts.org/

[whistle]

1. Thanks....

kick