There is something in life that none of us can escape – the hyphen. I can hear you now. “Unlock the rubber room. Keith has gone completely over the edge.”
Before you tune me out, take a minute to tune in. Take a little trip with me. Let’s go to a very quiet, restful place. It is a garden. Yes, there are usually pretty flowers scattered throughout this place. But it is more a garden of stone. Some of them are big and fancy. Some of them are small and simple. All of these stones bear a hyphen. You see, we have travelled to a cemetery. You’ve been to one. The stones will have a person’s name. Along with the name will be two dates. The first date notes the year the person was born. The second date marks the event of their death. Between the two dates is a hyphen. It will be the same for us. The first date is one over which we had absolutely no control. The second date is one that we
cannot escape. Death will come to us.
But, what about the hyphen?
We have choices we can make about the things that happen with the time marked by the hyphen in our lives. Will the hyphen of our life span denote a person who tried to make a positive difference in their world? Will we have used that time to make changes in our own lives to become more loving and understanding? Will we be known as someone who could overcome prejudices and selfishness that is a part of everyone? Will we leave a legacy of people being able to say, “My life is better for knowing them.”?
What will you do with the hyphen?
Think about it.
You are loved. Peace.
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