I didn’t know much about Elizabeth Edwards, probably what most of us knew, the main events of her life since her husband came to national attention in 2003. But I can’t think of a person in my lifetime who handled adversity and injustice with equal grace. The excerpt that she had printed at her desk is worth repeating, over and over:
"Ring the bells that still can ring.
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything.
That’s how the light gets in."
And if you’ve never seen or heard Leonard Cohen sing his song, Anthem, from which this quote is taken, you’re in for a life-changing experience. I can’t stop watching this today.
When she died, I swear it broke my heart. She lived her life wide open and fought for the life worth living. It made me scared to know she died of cancer. But it also made me suck it up and continue to live a life worth fighting for. And as for Leonard Cohen, he is, always was, and always will be purely Divine.
ReplyDeleteA lovely sentiment in that poem, Mary. Elizabeth Edwards seemed to me an extraordinary person with tremendous class and a strength of character that was inspiring. What a loss.
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