In the End, Only Three Things Matter

A short, contemplative essay that pairs the Buddha's deathbed reflections with the last words of Murphy's dying friend — "None of it matters in the end, Andy. All that matters is how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of the things not meant for you." Murphy uses the convergence between the two voices to argue that almost everything we anxiously optimize for collapses, at the end, into those three measures.