The title of this article comes from a poem. The poem is written about a man at his friend's funeral. Now, before you stop reading because you think this is going to be something sad written about death, let me explain.

A man is speaking at his friend's funeral and he talks about the two dates inscribed on the tombstone. First, there is his friend's date of birth. Then, there is his friend's date of death. But what he said mattered the most wasn't the year that came first, or the year that came last. He said what mattered most was the dash in between those years.

This poem got me thinking. So often, we focus on the beginning and end, but what about everything in between?

The dash between the two dates of our existence means so much. That dash is full of our entire lives. That dash is full of first days of school, fun times with friends, family vacations, weddings, births, deaths, good times, bad times, sad times, stressful times, times you wish you could go back and relive, times you wish you could forget...you get the point. That dash is such a small little thing on a tombstone, but is by far the most important part.

Another part of the poem goes like this:

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.

The world today is so focused on material things. It is so focused on what we have and our status that comes as a result of what we have (the cars, the house, the cash). But I really like how this poem says that those things aren’t what really matters.

The words written in this poem are a reminder of what is truly important in life. It is a reminder that one day, our dash will be enclosed by two dates but people will remember us not for how much we owned, but by how we lived.

If you’re reading this article, then your dash hasn’t been enclosed yet. You’ve still got time left. I challenge you to take a look at your life. Take a look at the way you’re living. Take a look at your relationships with others. Try to think of how you want to be remembered one day.

Sure, we’ve all made mistakes along the way. But the beauty of being humans is that we have the ability to change the way we live. We have the ability to love and laugh and listen and truly live life to the fullest. We aren’t here on this earth forever. God puts us here for a certain amount of time, but that time is valuable and we are to make the most of the time we are given.

So in closing, I just have one question to leave you with that comes from the very end of the poem…

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?

(Read the whole poem here! http://www.linda-ellis.com/the-dash-the-dash-poem-...)