There are times to be silent and still\u2026 to be intentional in observance\u2026 taking it all in. Last week was one of those times.<\/p>\n
Honoring the life, character, and service of former President George H.W. Bush, persons of influence \u2014 varying in politics and profession \u2014 gathered to pay their respects to Bush 41\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2026 Collin Powell and Condoleezza Rice\u2026 Peyton Manning, Nolan Ryan, Yao Ming, and J.J. Watt\u2026 Prince Charles, Reba McIntire, Chuck Norris and Arnold Schwarzenegger (\u2026 have you seen the picture of 41 and Gov. Schwarzenegger actually <\/i>sledding<\/i><\/b> together at Camp David in 1991??)\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n
In the second row of the funeral in Washington, D.C. sat all living current or former vice presidents and their spouses. In the first row, sat all living current or former presidents and their spouses.<\/p>\n
It was time to be still, to take it all in\u2026 time for the raucous responses to stop.<\/p>\n
While the day was full of an impressive plethora of pomp and circumstance, two moments stood out in my observance\u2026<\/p>\n
One, when former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson spoke\u2026<\/p>\n
Known for the rapidity of his wit, Simpson did not disappoint. How wonderful it was to see actual moments when the entire front-row-eight were seemingly belly-laughing in response to Sen. Simpson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But Simpson\u2019s wit should not overshadow his wisdom, which was nothing short of both poignant and profound. While he spoke of Bush\u2019s loyalty and friendship and his willingness to take a political hit if another path was perceived wiser, Simpson\u2019s most perspicacious statement was in his succinct description of 41\u2019s character:<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 He was a man of such great humility; those who travel the high road of humility in Washington, D.C., are not bothered by heavy traffic.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n Oh, how wise\u2026 how we all need to hear\u2026 the recognition that humility is the high road.<\/b><\/p>\n Yet there was another moment that stood out more to me \u2014 in that time to be silent and still\u2026<\/p>\n When the entire front-row-eight, bowed their heads together\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026 were they praying? \u2026 were they meditating? \u2026 were they talking or listening to God?\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n None of us know. We aren\u2019t in the heads and hearts of another and thus need to resist the imprudent lure to judge the exact motivation of another.<\/p>\n But regardless of what we know, there was something in the collective, quiet bow that was incredibly beautiful, rare as such may be. It was the intentional act of deference \u2014 the humble submission to someone or something greater than self\u2026 an act we don\u2019t often see. What a powerful moment, witnessing those men and women lead us not in any partisan effort or in the fueling of division, arrogance and thus some form of hatred\u2026 but rather, pausing\u2026 being intentionally silent and still\u2026 recognizing there is something bigger and more.<\/p>\n Calling George H.W. Bush \u201cthe most decent and honorable person I ever met,\u201d Simpson seemed acutely aware of the gravitas of both his audience and moment. He said of Bush, \u201cHe never hated anyone. He knew what his mother and my mother always knew: hatred corrodes the container it’s carried in.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n In a day where too many struggle to see that hate only hurts the holder, humility is the high road, and too many refuse to bow to anyone other than self, last week was an excellent time to be silent and still.<\/p>\n Beautifully refreshing, too\u2026<\/p>\n Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are times to be silent and still\u2026 to be intentional in observance\u2026 taking it all in. Last week was one of those times. Honoring the life, character, and service of former President George H.W. Bush, persons of influence \u2014 varying in politics and profession \u2014 gathered to pay their respects to Bush 41\u2026 \u2026 … <\/p>\n