What Makes You Feel Alive?

What makes you feel alive?

This last weekend, some friends and I did a 'polar plunge' fundraiser for Special Olympics.


It made me stop and think...

As I came up out of the frigid water, struggling to catch my breath, I felt very alive. My lungs sucking in and out air and water. I was alive! No, this thought didn't come to me just because I was thankful to have made it out alive, though it is what initiated the thought process.

The shock of the ice cold water...sucking in air...feeling my heart beat...looking at the smiling faces of the Special Olympians that were there...watching them plunge...knowing I was being of service to someone else...being surrounded by friends...laughing hysterically at ourselves...the hugs that were shared...the love of those that supported us... These are the things, the things that made me feel alive in that moment in time.

I have come to see that each day is truly a gift. It does the soul well to stop for a moment, whether it is 30 seconds or 30 minutes, and realize that you are alive! You have been given the gift of another day. Use that gift. It is a hope of most, that the world and the people in it, will be better because you lived. So live. Go out and jump in a frozen lake. Learn how to tap dance. Go for a walk and soak in the beauty of that which surrounds you. Preform a random act of kindness for someone. Sieze the not just the day, but the moment! Most importantly, LIVE!!! Live while you're alive. For we never know when it will be our time to 'return Home.' Make the most of your days. As the following poem relays this message: It will not be the dates on your tombstone that will matter, it will be what you did with the dash that will really count.

THE DASH

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 birth

And spoke of the following date with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all

Was the dash between those years. (1934-1998)

For that dash represents all the time

That she spent alive on the 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

That the way 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...

Will you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash?

~Linda Ellis~