The Dash

This is the poem that inspired my tattoo.... I am in recovery and a saying that my sponsor and I say quite often is "I LOVE MY LIFE!!" No matter what is going on, good or bad we just try to remind ourselves that we are blessed to be in recovery and that we are going to live this life to the best!!!!!! So the heart represents LOVING and the dash represents our life. We drew up the design, so now my sponsor, my best friend and she is also my roommate got matching tattoos.

Here is the poem.

THE DASH

by Linda Ellis

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 her date of her birth
And spoke 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.


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.


And 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