Life is short. but we likely don't think about that for most of our lives. Lent begins with an opportunity to do so--to reflect on the brevity of life, and the hard reality that binds us all together: we are terminal.  Each of us, one day, returning to the dust into which life was first breathed for humanity.  What we make of this life is largely up to us, but the grace of these ashes is in knowing that God is with us...and for us...and will one day welcome us to our eternal home.  The ashes are God's brand upon us, claiming us as his own from start to finish.