The Dash In Between

Have you ever listened to words that were so moving, you felt the words go straight to your soul? Something so meaningful that you know you will carry it with you forever? I heard those words today at the funeral for my dear friend. The minister talked about the dates on your tombstone.  The beginning date and the end date.  Everyone looks at those two dates.  We know when that person was born and when exactly that person died.  She said that those two dates were not nearly as important as the dash in between. The dash in between is what you did to make a difference in this world. The dash represents who you are, what you did with your life, what you left behind and how your life will be remembered. Too many people waste that dash. They get caught up in life's busy little things and forget about the big picture. They don't stop to think about how each day brings something special, or they forget to tell the people they love how much they mean to them, or they forget to try to give something back to the world to try to make it a better place. Every day is a chance to make your dash meaningful. Some people get long dashes. Some people get dashes that are way too short. You never know what kind of dash you will be given in life and no dash should ever be taken for granted. On the way home from the funeral, Mr. Yesteryear Acres said that life's perfect recipe is using a dash of goodness, a dash of kindness, a dash of honesty, a dash of love, a dash of optimism, a dash of faith and to make sure to mix all those dashes together and carry them in your heart every single day. I will be sure to follow Mr. Yesteryear Acres' recipe and to follow Paul's example and fill my dash with all the goodness I can. I choose to do good and to be good and to remember to always be thankful for my many many blessings.  Paul's dash was very full. What recipe of life will be inside your dash?