Our emotions are powerful motivators, and more than almost anything else in our lives they will drive our behavior. Sometimes our greatest challenge is to get inside our own heads to understand what makes us tick. Why do we feel and behave the way we do?
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I know two family members who were best of friends, but several years ago, one reminded the other of something that had happened thirty years earlier. One thing led to another and, you know what, they haven’t spoken since.
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William Ward identified the cure when he said, “Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the handcuffs of hate.”
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Those are powerful words, and I know from personal experience…forgiveness works. A few times in my life I’ve been greatly wronged and taken advantage of. My first reaction, of course, was anger and resentment. I held it for awhile and felt my stomach tie up in knots, my appetite wane, and the joy slip out of my life.
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The quote from Ward provided the wake-up call I needed to forgive the person who had wronged me. It was like I had been playing the first half of a basketball game with three-pound steel shoes, and in the locker room the coach said, “Mac, try these new Nikes in the second half.” Multiply that by ten and you’ll understand how great it feels to unload your “emotional baggage” through the power of forgiveness.
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Life is too short to stay angry…even for a day. Just remember that, “this special Dash may only last a little while.”
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“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.”
-Paul Boese
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Live Your Dash with Passion,
Mac Anderson
Founder, Simple Truths
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THE DASH
I read of a reverend who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.
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He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
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And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.
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If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile?
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
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So, when your eulogy’s being read
With your life’s actions to rehash,
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?
by Linda Ellis
Copyright 1998
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