THE DASH
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.
These are the first 3 of 9 verses of The Dash, a beautiful poem written by Linda Ellis in 1996. Her life has never been the same since. Since then, it has inspired millions of people around the world.
Mac Anderson
Founder, Simple Truths,says—-
I recently had dinner with someone who told me that one of his best friends had been killed in a private plane crash, and something happened at the service that he'll never forget. He shared the story with me.
At the memorial service, his friend's wife walked to the podium to speak to the gathering. She said a friend had asked her the best memory she had of their life together. At the moment, she had been too grief-stricken to answer, but she had thought about it since and wanted to answer the question.
They were in their late forties when he died, and she began talking about a time in their life almost twenty years earlier. She had quit her job to obtain her master's degree, and her husband never wavered in his support.
He held down his own job and also did the cooking, cleaning, and other household chores while she studied for her degree.
One time they both stayed up all night. She was finishing her thesis, and he was preparing for an important business meeting. That morning, she walked out on their loft, looked at him over the railing, and just thought about how much she loved him. She knew how important this meeting was to his career, and she was feeling guilty that she didn't even have time to make his breakfast. He grabbed his briefcase and hurried out. She heard the garage door open and close, but much to her surprise, she heard it open again about thirty seconds later. From above, she watched her husband dash into the house and walk over to the neglected coffee table. Tracing his finger through the dust, he wrote the words, "I love you." Then he raced back to his car.
The new widow then looked out at her audience and said, "John and I had a wonderful life together. We have been around the world several times, we've had everything money can buy but nothing comes close to that moment."
"Our Dash" moves with lightning speed. It feels like yesterday that I graduated from college and now forty years have passed. Although I'm very proud of my business accomplishments, in the end my life comes back to loving and being loved.
"Love may not make the world go around but it sure makes the ride worthwhile."
FROM-www.simpletruths.com
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ya read previously on simpletruths.
i have read this one b4 but still thanks
Yes as each second becomes a dash the next moment and that dash touches the life of many who crosses the same path and their life is made or marred it is a mere dash after all…….
I did not realise that a dash stood for the whole life. thanks for the post. good one.
A very inspiring post and very deeply thought one ! gr8!
very thoughtful
An excellent and very touching story.
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……..between means so much..hope we make the most of it!
Lovely!
Nice one!
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very heart touching post. Felt how it feel losing a person. Very nice post
At times, some small-small moment of life which we ignore celebrating, are become the most memorable moments of life, for which we regret in the later age that why we didn’t celebrate those moment, which may not be looks important to us but could have given an immense happiness to somebody important in there life.