SINCERELY SCOTTY: Your Dash

Your Dash

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives” – Annie Dillard

Stop for a moment and ask, “God, how am I doing?  Am I living my life as I should be?”  Most likely a few will say “yes”, but most will say, “I should be doing better”. How we live our life and how we relate to others determines how we will be remembered by our friends.

I remember an old Country and Western song that said, “Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young, and Leave a Beautiful Memory.”  Well, I really doubt that would be the case – it sounds like a pretty self-centered approach to life to me.  Our actions and treatment toward others can be said to be a reflection of our soul.  No, it won’t be a perfect reflection, but we must always be trying to improve on it.

Many years ago Thomas Edison tried two thousand different materials in search of a filament for his new light bulb.  When none worked satisfactorily, his assistant complained that “All our work is in vane.”  Edison confidently replied, “Oh, we have come a long way and we learned a lot.  We now know that there are two thousand materials which we cannot use to make a good light bulb.”

There was an old oriental proverb that went like this – “Fall six times, get up seven.”

This simply means we need to keep trying to improve ourselves all the time.  Yes, we all falter, but it’s the getting back up and trying again that determines our inner strength.  I think the poem below says it all:      

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 her date of birth

And spoke the following date with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all

Was the dash between those years. (1900-1970)

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’s being read

With your life’s actions to rehash…

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash?

Enough said!

Sincerely,

Scotty