Here’s #WhatMattersMost to You

February 12, 2015

Tim Molloy

Children. Grandparents. Getting some writing done. Dying with dignity.

Those were just a few of your responses this week when we asked you — FRONTLINE viewers — to use the hashtag #WhatMattersMost to tell us about what has the greatest meaning in your lives. Our new film, Being Mortal, based on Dr. Atul Gawande’s New York Times bestselling book, looked at how doctors can best help patients who are near the end of their lives.

Also read: Why Is It So Hard for Doctors to Talk to Patients About Death?

Terminally ill patients have to ask themselves what matters most, and how to spend the time they have. But it’s also an important question for those of us whose deaths aren’t imminent: What do we truly care about in this world?

We don’t need to wait until our last days to celebrate #WhatMattersMost — or to tell the people who matter most how we feel. Here are just a few of the thoughts and images shared on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube:

Peace and laughter with those dearest to me. Helping someone suffering. Praying to God. All sound better than treatment. #WhatMattersMost — Katie Pratt (@kathryn_slc) February 11, 2015

#WhatMattersMost That my Dad, Step-Mom, other loved ones & I have the freedom to choose our end-of-life options. @frontlinepbs @Atul_Gawande

— Joy Meredith (@JoyMeredith) February 11, 2015

I got to say goodbye. #WhatMattersMost pic.twitter.com/XyFpqaG43Z — Elvia (@ECM75) February 11, 2015

I’d write as fast and furiously as I could, sharing the thoughts I’d been too timid or didn’t have time to share before. #WhatMattersMost — Bill Woolley (@WoolleyBill) February 11, 2015

The #WhatMattersMost thread is beautiful. In the end, I’ll want to preserve joy and laughter and have a few last conversations with my kids. — Amy Romano (@midwifeamy) February 11, 2015

My dad caring for my mom. This is what love looks like. #love #aging #parents #cancer #cancersucks #family #60yearstogether A photo posted by @sactowriter on Dec 23, 2014 at 9:30am PST

I just finished watching Frontline’s #BeingMortal. It brought me back to when my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer and his personal struggle with coming to terms with his own mortality. From that moment on I’ve been keenly aware of the fragility of life as well as #WhatMattersMost to me (quality time). I feel fortunate to have a wonderful family who make these trips around the sun so brilliant! A photo posted by Stef (@sjensenkeele) on Feb 10, 2015 at 10:57pm PST

To be in familiar surroundings, free from suffering – or at least that those loved ones left behind don’t witness suffering. #whatmattersmost A photo posted by t o m c r a w f o r d (@gr8fulson) on Feb 10, 2015 at 11:02pm PST

Just watched a @frontlinepbs film that asks what would matter most to you if you knew your time was short. Spending quality time with my friends and family is a no-brainer. So is practicing self-acceptance without judgment. Figure if I’m more kind to myself, I’ll have more energy and time to give to the people and causes I care about. #WhatMattersMost #BeingMortal

A photo posted by Thanh Tan (@thanhtan) on Feb 11, 2015 at 1:02am PST

Watched an incredible documentary last night on @frontlinepbs called Being Mortal in which they discuss how doctors treat and deal with patients who are terminally ill. #whatmattersmost to me is family. My son Oliver is my everything. With my wife Daniah being pregnant #whatmattersmost is very evident, having a family. Certainly the love of my immediate family will always give me the strength to not be afraid of what the future may hold for is. @daniah25 @mama_marcos @andy_marcos @lolo_marc @bunko_marcos @healn1gmailcom @sayacheezephotography @gelfling14

A photo posted by Nikolai Marcos (@surfnikolai) on Feb 11, 2015 at 9:24am PST