Words that caught us: How are you spending your DASH?

 

It’s not clear if it’s our advancing age,

Or the pandemic,

But it’s rare for a week to pass these days,

Without hearing of someone passing on.

The usual calls for assistance

To cover the hospital bill and/or funeral expenses,

Are coming in at a faster rate

Than we can process them.

We have never experienced so much death!

We are.... exhausted!

 

We don’t know about you,

But we feel like we are going through

Some unspoken trauma.

If you are feeling the same,

We hope you’ll take a moment,

Firstly, to be grateful for the miracle that is life;

Secondly, to, responsibly, arrange your affairs, 

Including taking out appropriate insurance;

And thirdly, to contemplate your DASH,

As per the words below, by Linda Ellis. 

The silver lining 

In the pain and sorrow of this moment,

Is that it reminds us of the DASH, 

And the WORK we still have to do!

"The Dash

I read of a man who stood to speak

At the 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 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

That 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 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 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 spent YOUR dash?"