How Have You Lived Your Dash?

I would just to share a powerful song that I heard recently called ‘The Dash’. The ‘Dash’ was originally a poem written by Linda Ellis and it has been an inspiration to millions around the world, including myself. The song makes us realize that the day we complete our journey on earth, we will have two dates inscribed on our tombstone, the year of birth and the year of death. In the middle of both these dates, is a short dash ‘-’. This dash represents all that we have done during our time that we are alive. It makes us reflect how how we have lived our ‘dash’.
At the end of the day, we will soon realize that success is not about what we have (the cars, the houses and the cash we own)…but who we become as a person and how many people we have touched in the process. It reminds me of a movie I watched a few months ago called the ‘Bucket List’, about two elderly men (played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) who were dying and wanted to fulfill their last wished written on a list before they died. The most touching moment was when Morgan Freeman said to Jack Nicholson that the way to know if you have truly lived a successful life is to ask two questions. Question 1: ‘Have you found true joy in your life? and Question 2: ‘Has your life brought joy to others?’ If the answer is yes to both two questions, then you can go in peace. Something to think about…
As you play the song on youtube way at the top ‘The Dash’, you may want to read the lyrics below. Enjoy and reflect!

There was a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend.
He read the dates on her tombstone from the beginning…to the end.
He noted first came the date of her birth and spoke the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.
For that dash stands for all the time that she spent alive on earthɉ۬and only those who loved her know what that little line is worth.
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 re-arranged
If we would just slow down enough to consider what’s true and real and always try to understand the way that other’s feel. We’d be much less quick to anger and show appreciation more and love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before.
So, when your eulogy’s being read and your life is being rehashed…would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?