God has created us. We are part of that creation which has come out of nothing. We depend totally upon God's creative, providential will. We are not the masters of our fate. Our days on this earth are numbered.
Death is our destiny.
The first formula reminds us that we are to live by the Gospel, by the good news of our salvation in Christ Jesus. The ashes are placed on our foreheads in the Sign of the Cross. Oftentimes it is difficult to realize this, because we end up with an ill-defined smudge. Nonetheless, the effort is to sign us with the Sign of the Cross in ashes. The Gospel tells us that this dust which we are has been created anew in Christ Jesus by His saving death and resurrection.