What makes a life?

What makes a life
I mean really, what makes one?
Is it just being alive
Or is it what talents you have and how you use them
Is it having children
Or your career 
What about your friends 
What makes your life?
When you get a headstone and we all will 
What will it say?
Will it describe who you were 
What impact you had
The dreams you were able to see fulfilled 
The tears you cried and the heartbreak you’ve endured 
It’ll probably just be the dates and that all too familiar hyphen 
So many things have been written about that dash
When you distill your days down|
What does it mean?
You’ll leave behind loved ones and your clothes 
If you're lucky you’ll leave money and some cool stuff 
Who you end up being 
It’s up to you to decide 
As far as I know we only get to do this once
So I hope you make this one great 
Even if it gets messy at times, it’s still a miracle that we are all on this little blue planet
Let’s live like it and make sure you decide before someone carves that dash on your headstone
What will make your life really matter?