The Dash

This evening I attended the wake for a friend's father who died suddenly last week. Although he lived a full life, my friend said the week had been tragic and that they were of course all overwhelmed at their loss.

As I was driving home, I thought of something I read once somewhere. When you die, your name goes on a tombstone, followed by your date of birth, a dash and then your date of death. Your entire life, everything you accomplished, everyone you touched and the family you created; all represented by a short dash.

So before you get to that date of death, you must make the most of your dash. Your dash through life as it sometimes seems. It just goes so fast. You know that if you have kids.

So this is why you must make the effort to create the life you want. Beyond reducing the day-to-day stress of just getting by, finding a good balance between your work and the rest of your life can help you get the most out of your dash.