Jackie Chan RIP? Fortunately, the Twitter news was but one of a recent string of hoaxes regarding celebrity deaths. I’m sure Jackie Chan did not appreciate the thought of his demise, but the stunt has people thinking and talking about the inevitable end of each of our lives.

When my own father passed away a few years ago, the ensuing impact was far deeper than a mere Twitter mishap. In my book Undefending Christianity, I share a chapter on how this face-to-face encounter with death transformed my life. In part, the account reads:

The funeral remains a blur to me to this day. I recall sitting by my mom, reading Psalm 23, and standing in front of my dad’s tomb. After everyone had left, my wife was back at the car and I stood staring at the stone with my father’s name on it. Below his name were his birth and death dates, July 16, 1950—May 23, 2000. My eyes remained fixed on that dash, that single sliver carved between the dates of my father’s earthly existence.

That dash represented every moment of my dad’s life. Every meal, every late night talk, every grade of elementary school, the day I drove him to his radiation treatment, and the time we had walked together just days before. His dash was his existence, his contribution, his legacy. He had lived his dash.

Are you living your dash? What are you doing today that will outlive your life? Begin now to live each moment mindful of your dash, knowing time is short.

You won’t regret it.

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DILLON BURROUGHS is an author, activist, and co-founder of Activist Faith. Dillon served in Haiti following the epic 2010 earthquake and has investigated modern slavery in the US and internationally. His books include Undefending Christianity, Not in My Town (with Charles J. Powell), and Thirst No More (October). Discover more at ActivistFaith.org.