"she opened her eyes"

[tunes: #63, "what the world needs now is love" by jackie deshannon.]

did you catch pres. obama's memorial speech for the victims of the shooting in tucson?

i heard the beginning on the radio on my way to somewhere. when i got to the aforementioned somewhere, i sat in the parking lot for 30min and listened to the rest until i was late for my somewhere. captivating.

regardless of your political beliefs, this is a message anyone can and should appreciate. it's a message about being more kind, expressing more love and living each day like it might be our last. it made me think about what would be said at my funeral -- what defining character traits i'd be most remembered by.

it also made me think what love i would regret expressing if today happened to be my last. what i would wish my priorities had been on that last day. who i would have called, e-mailed, hugged, apologized to. what i would have simply left undone, unsaid, unworried, unstressed, unfretted.

it's the kind of thoughts i always think in the wake of a tragedy. i don't care what political party you belong to -- this is a message we could all stand to think about.

so...

go read it.

or better yet

go listen to it.

just a couple gems below. but please, don't miss his words about each of the victims.

"make sure we talk with one another in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds." 

"we recognize our own mortality, and we are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this earth, what matters most is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame -- but rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in bettering the lives of others."

"only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to the challenges of our nation."

"the forces that divide us are not as important as the forces that unite us."

"we should do everything we can do to make sure that this country lives up to our children's expectations."

"may [God] bless the United States of America."

p.s.

i also love that pres. obama is unashamed of referencing the Bible in public. i respect that.