MAD DASH TO THE FINISH LINE

Is it just ME, or do you ever ponder how you will be remembered?  Come on, now, I think we all do.
 

I read a poem years ago.  I loved it then.  I read it again just last week.  I think I love it even more.  (See what more distance in the rearview mirror does to a girl?)

I love it because it is so simple.  I love it because it provokes such thought.  Read it, won’t you?  I’ll see you at “the end”…Oh, my…at the end of the poem, I mean.  OR, perhaps at THE end, as well (which obviously didn’t come today as the Mayan calendar predicted – that means we all have  chance to do a better job!)

The Dash

by Linda Ellis, copyright 1996

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 the date of her birth and spoke of 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 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 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?

Hi, Beth, again…

WOW!  Did you love it, too?  Aren’t the words golden?

I’ve been blessed to know great women – great men, of course, as well.  I think of them often.  My Mom, for instance.  My Grandmothers.  Did they do great things?  Yes!  No!  Whatever!

They did things with great love.  The dashes that mark their graves are the lines between heaven and earth.  That would be enough for most women; it would be enough for me.  

Women want to be remembered for being a great mom, for being honest, fair, for having made a difference for others.  Are there any more noble legacies than these?  These are simple words. But, they are lofty accomplishments.  There are what lead women through their long days and short nights.

Make no mistake.  These words are spoken by presidents of companies, accomplished professionals, leaders in government, communities and not-for-profits.  They have paid it forward and they want to continue to pay it back.  In so doing, they WILL be remembered as great moms, for being honest, fair and for having made a difference in the world.

SO, IS it just me?  As you are “dashing” around today, give it some thought, won’t you?  Share your thoughts; they just might make a difference in the life of someone else.  That’s what it’s all about, right?

So, how do you want to be remembered?

 Please share…..Please comment.

I will not be posting any new Blogs until Wed, Jan 2, 2013.

On behalf of everyone at TheIWLA,

I wish you and  yours the very best of the holiday season

and may everything you are hoping for in 2013

be the least that you receive.

~Beth