MONDAY MORNING REFLECTIONS - HONORING BARBARA BUSH

BY STEVE DUNN

Saturday morning in St. Martin's Episcopal Cathedral in Houston, America celebrated the life of Barbara Bush. I was amused by a news reporter's comment that her faith and friends were very important to her, but most important to her was her family.  Mrs. Bush's quote on the subject earlier in her life was in a different order saying the most important things were faith, family and friends.  In a 2013 interview for a C-Span series on First Ladies, she made that clear: "I'm a huge believer in a loving God," she said. "And I don't have a fear of death for my precious George or for myself because I know that there is a great God."  A lady of great Christian dignity, Cleve R. Wootson, Jr. of the Washington Post added. "Even in the 2013 interview she took pains not to sound too sanctimonious. 'That sounds so arrogant," she said, turning away from the interviewer. I'm a big shot. I have a faith in God. I do have a faith in God. And I don't question it. I have no fear of death. And I think that's very comforting."  SOURCE: The Oklahoman -News OK website-April 18th, 2018.Cleve R. Wootson Jr. The Washington Post

Her values informed her ideas and thoughts and words.  Here are some of those definitely worth remembering.

To the Wellesley College graduating class: "At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a children, or a parent."

"Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people -- your family, friends, and coworkers, and even strangers you meet along the way."

"When you come to a roadblock, take a detour."

"I hate the fact that people think 'compromise' is a dirty word."

 "Don't cry over things that were or things that aren't. Enjoy what you have now to the fullest."

“Bias has to be taught. If you hear your parents downgrading women or people of different backgrounds, why, you are going to do that.”

 "You have to love your children unselfishly. That is hard. But it is the only way.”

"You have two choices in life; you can either like what you do or dislike what you do. I have chosen to like what I do."

"Libraries have always seemed like the richest places in the world to me, and I've done some of my best learning and thinking thanks to them."

"Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others."

"I'm a liberal when it comes to human rights, the poor; so's George Bush. . . . But Liberal and Conservative don't mean much to me anymore. Does that mean we care about people and are interested and want to help? And if that makes you a Liberal, so be it."

" If human beings are perceived as potentials rather than problems, as possessing strengths instead of weaknesses, as unlimited rather that dull and unresponsive, then they thrive and grow to their capabilities."