Wednesday, December 16, 2015

The Dash

On your tombstone you’ve got your birth date and the date of your death. In between those two dates is the little dash – that’s your life – everything from the time you were born to the time you die. The question is – how are you going to live your dash?

I was introduced to this idea while watching a documentary. At the time this idea blew my mind, granted it was three in the morning. I started to really think about this and the more I thought the more blown away I was by this concept. When we look at someone’s grave we don’t even think about what the dash means. It’s your whole life in one little line – what you accomplished and who you were.

The Dash Poem 
Linda Ellis 

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears, 
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth 
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars, the house, the cash, 
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard;
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left 
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives 
Like we've never loved before

If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile, 
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read 
With your life's actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash? 

It's interesting to think about. I've probably over analyzed this concept to the extreme, but I guess that's what happens on a graveyard shift. 

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