WHAT WE DO WITH THE DASH

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I once heard a sermon with a curious title. Since then, I have heard variations of the same sermon several times, and not always behind the pulpit, but simply as an illustration.

The first and subsequent times I heard it, it has sounded pretty much like,

“You go out to a cemetery, and you see a multitude of headstones. You notice various names, epitaphs, and sometimes photos. And each stone marker is engraved with a date of birth and a date of death. And in between the two dates is a dash. My friends, the dash represents …your life. All that ultimately matters is what we do with the dash!”

Life is fleeting. I am approaching my mid-70’s, yet it seems my childhood and adolescence were just a moment ago.

I heard another illustration which accents the importance of embracing one’s destiny in the few short years represented by the dash.

“If I asked you to name the richest piece of ground on earth, some of you would say ‘it has to be the gold mines of South Africa.’ Others may guess the oil wells Saudi Arabia. Still others might presume it to be the rain forests of South America.

“And if you selected any of these choices, you would… be wrong. For you see, the richest piece of ground on earth is your local cemetery. For lying dormant in the bosoms of thousands of those who went before us are unfinished dreams. Dreams that might have changed the world. But they will lie there unfulfilled for a million million years.”

One of the main characters in the movie, “Shawshank Redemption” said, “Get busy living or get busy dying.”

It’s all about what we do with the dash.

by William McDonald, PhD

THE DASH POEM

I read of a man who stood to speak at a funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning… to the end.

He noted that first came the date of 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 they spent alive on earth and now only those who loved them 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 still can be rearranged.

To 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 lived your dash?

By Linda Ellis, Copyright © Inspire Kindness, 1996, thedashpoem.com.