Death waves its hand in my face. It’s a reminder, a pointer – “are you living well while you can?”
Three weeks ago, I eulogized my father. Today I listened to eulogies of a friend’s mother at her funeral and burial.
I have to admit, I like hearing eulogies. I like hearing the mark people make, the impact they have, the legacy they leave. It spurs me on and puts me back on track towards pursuing a life of meaning and goodness, appreciation and gratitude. It makes me think once again of the big things, the important things, and of not getting bogged down in the petty negativities that we all succumb to so easily and so often.
It makes me check in with myself, with my life, to see if I’m living it to my satisfaction.
We’re all going to be in that box at some point (or as ashes), so are we making the most of our lives? Are we at least attempting to live the life we want? Death can move us towards living a better life. While we’re standing upright, it behooves us to make it good.
There’s a wonderful poem called The Dash – www.thedashmovie.com (Linda Ellis, 1996)
How do you spend your dash – the time between your birth and death? Are you making it as good as possible ?
