It wasn't the first time I've heard the concept. But it prompted my thinking to a deeper level this time when the minister referenced the dash between my brother's date of birth and his date of death. A dash. That dash represents the short time we spend on earth. Yes, it's kind of sobering when you hear it for the first time. "Man, how am I going to spend my dash?" We would all do well to ask ourselves the same question.
But, this wasn't the first time I've heard or thought of the concept of the dash. Not my second or even third either. But it was the first time I thought of it in the context of my brother's life. His dash was even shorter than average. And as a result of this contemplation, I'm even more impressed with the quality of his dash.
We see so many symbols being promoted now. And I'm not going to argue for or against many of them, either way. But when the question arises as to who matters... let me suggest what I see in my brother's dash...the historical period of time from his birth to his death..."others".
I am currently overwhelmed by the sheer number of people I've talked to in the last couple of days. The thought that pops into my head is that they all mattered to Doug. Somehow, and I think it must be a gift, but somehow he communicated to them that they all mattered.
My mind can categorize groups of people that show up for a visitation or funeral. Friends of a family member, church connection, coworker, or neighbor, and there were very many people in each of those and other categories, and many of them even overlapped categories.
But then there was a guy that said he was just a customer where Doug worked, and that's how he knew him. And then another, ...and others... that Doug waited on and served. And it dawned on me that my brother had the gift of communicating to others that they mattered. The place was full of people that mattered to Doug, and they all knew it. It was not a competition to see who mattered most. It was more like a tribute to the one who let them all know indiscriminately, ...that they mattered.
Yes, in my mind, that's what Doug's dash means.
Others matter.
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