When we leave this mortal world, on our headstone will be two dates; our birthdate and the date of our death.
Our birth is obviously an important date.
We spend each year of our lives marking the date when our soul reignited with the spark of life and was reborn into our new physical body.
Our death date too is an important date. None of us know when that date will be until it arrives, and it marks a point of loss and grief for those we leave behind.
But while these dates are obviously important, it’s the hyphen that joins them that is infinitely more profound...
That small dash represents every single moment between those dates.
It represents your whole life - every second, every heartbeat, every breath you’ve ever taken.
It represents every moment of joy, sadness, anger, torment, depression, anxiety, happiness, love, laughter, tears and conversations you’ve ever had!
That tiny line represents every day you’ve opened your eyes, every time you’ve said “I love you” everything you’ve ever experienced, the ups and downs, the loves and losses, struggles and achievements.
It’s a reminder of all of the dreams you ever had, all of the things you always said you’d do but didn’t, the things you did do but wish you hadn’t.
That insignificant looking little line underscores your entire life. Every single second you’ve ever lived.
When we see that on a grave stone, we often overlook it.
Obviously we may not have known the person whose headstone we are reading, and we couldn’t possibly know the intricacies of everyone’s life, but regardless, they all did have a life, as equally as complex and beautiful as our own, and one day, it will be someone else reading the dates and skipping over the hyphen on our headstones.
So before that time comes, take stock of - and bring awareness to - exactly what it is that little hyphen will represent for you.
What do you want to achieve?
How do you want your life to be?
Where do you want to be and surrounded by who?
Take ownership of that hyphen now - that infinitely important little dash - and make it a hyphen well lived.
For more musings, why not join the Facebook group 'Beneath The Canopy'?