What will your gravestone say?

With wind on my side, the chances are I’ll live to about 80, maybe longer if I stay on my current path.

And that will see me to just 2055.

Yet another sobering thought.

Now this post isn’t about getting all glum, I’d much rather focus on life, or more specifically ‘living’, but this post was prompted because late last night a big burly chap called me and read me a poem by Linda Ellis.

Yep… I thought the same at first, but it hit a nerve, and I nearly blubbed, so I’ve shared it here in the hope that it also gets you thinking.

The poem is about the ‘dash’ on your gravestone, and what it represents.

That little line between the birth and death date. 

That’s it, that little line.

This poem brilliantly highlights that it’s not the words that are important on a gravestone, where the gravestone is, or what it’s made of, but the dash between the dates.

That dash represents everything.

It represents you, your time on this earth, and all you contributed whilst you were here.

Whilst the gravestone undoubtedly offers a place for someone to grieve, worship even, and no doubt occasionally visit with flowers, in next to no time, the stone will gather moss, whereas the dash, and what it represents, will live on forever in the hearts of those that remember the passed.

And so if you’re experiencing death or grieving right now, I’d encourage you to try to focus on the dash, and not the physical gravestone or plaque.

And remember, we can visit the dash whenever we like.

And there is no parking.

The Dash Poem - by Linda Ellis

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 first came the date of the birth and spoke the following date with tears.
But he said what mattered most of all was the dash between the years.
For that dash represents all the time that they spent life 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.
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?