When I was in the summer before starting high school, someone at my church told me, "In this new season of your life, you're going to lose at least one person you know, whether close or not, at least one person." I had no idea the amount of people I was going to lose up until graduation. I went to a handful of funerals throughout high school and many of them were fellow classmates. That's when it hit me. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. Life is just way too short.
I truly learned that life is simply like an hour glass. The only thing is, we don't know when the sand will run out. You only get one chance. There is no rewinding or going back to fix things. I won't lie, it's kinda frightening not knowing that this could be our last moment on Earth, but that's the dice we roll at this game called life. Everything else that we let capture our attention that shouldn't is just irrelevant; it's background noise.
We all have to open our eyes. Don't live your life scared to feel, to fall or to fail or of anything. In the words of Christina Yang and Ellis Grey (for my "Grey's Anatomy" fans), "You were born to be extraordinary."
I think every human being on this Earth needs to start living! Laugh so hard your stomach hurts. Make a mistake, and learn from it. Step outside your comfort zone, on more than one occasion. Don't apologize for everything. Cry because life is so beautiful. Take the time to tell the people close to you that you love them. Don't ever settle for mediocrity. Never be angry for long. It isn't worth it. Kiss the person you love. Fall in love and get your heart broken. Trust in God like you never have before. Follow all your dreams, do something you never thought you would. Be ambitious. Be bold. Be brave. Be kind. Be confident. Believe in yourself. Stop trying to impress people and care what others think. Seize the day.
So many times when a life is cut short we sit back to remember what they did in their lifetime. That is the dash. On your gravestone there will be two numbers. The year of your birth and of your death. In the middle, there will always be a dash. What will YOURS symbolize?
"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?"
Those words come from something called the Dash poem written by Linda Ellis. They ring so, so true. I don't think anyone ever stops to think about that. One day we will have all of our loved ones gathered celebrating our life, but also mourning. What can be read about you that will be of solace to those people? I am not telling anyone how to live their life at all, but what I am saying is that every single person can do something that will make an impact. Let it resonate with you, what will you do?
