Tim Russert was a Sage

I am "into" sage-ing rather than aging.  People often ask me what this means and the best explanation I can give is that it is learning to live your best life.  The secret is to embrace aging by behaviors such as:

• continuing to learn
• embracing mortality
• giving back generously
• mentoring others
• leaving a legacy
• staying interested
• remaining connected
• having a sense of roots and community
• loving life

While I could go on and these characteristics seem commonsensical, they are not.  If the list above was easy and common, we would not feel the loss of Tim Russert as much.  The best statement was made by Betsy Fischer, Executive Producer of Meet the Press, said it best:  "Tim would say that the best exercise for the human heart is to bend down and pick someone up.  He would hold us up."  That is what mentoring in the truest sense.

Tim is a good example of a sage who demonstrated these characteristics and that is why we feel so sad.  It appears he lived life to the fullest and that would be my wish.  I think the sadness comes from what we will be missing because these behaviors are not the norm. 

• Why aren't they the norm? 
• What if we made them the norm? 
• How can we make them the norm? 

We will miss Tim, but if we remember his legacy then he continues to live on in others. 

Comments

[Josh]

I was having troubles figuring out where to even start on this eulogy paper. This however was inspirational to me in the sense of how I hope people think of me after I pass. I'm sure when he was my age he never would have expected millions of people to mourn his death or for there to be blogs and articles written about him. I can only hope to have the same impact as him but it is a good mark to look forward towards.

[Jann Freed]

Josh--Thanks for reading and commenting. This is a tough assignment, but I think writing an eulogy can help us think about how we want to live our life. Are we behaving in ways in which we want people to remember? How do we want others to remember us? Great questions. Tim Russert was an example for all of us to remember. He made the most out of life.

I had a chance to hear him speak in Des Moines a few years ago. Then and on television he almost smiled when he talked. He was easy to watch. Keep thinking, reading, and reflecting. Dr. Freed

[Quinn Adair]

Tim Russert was a great man. He still serves as a role model today. He makes me think about the quality of life that I lead. Am I getting the most out of life as possible? Am I leaving a legacy that my family would be proud of?

[Ivy Paul]

The list of uncommon traits--the one that stands out to me is to give generously. When aging, we could begin to hoard what is ours for ourselves to enjoy; after all, we worked for it, we deserve it, right? I feel that is a common attitude. We could age less gracefully (Scrooge), having what we believe to be ours, but lacking joy and healthy relationships. Instead, we should grow in our realization that we live more full lives when we are generous with our time, talents, and resources. These things are really only in our possession for a short time anyway, and as a Christian, they are not even truly mine but God's. So I want to strive for generosity to be part of my life.

[Joe Russell]

No doubt Tim Russert cared a lot about us. Perhaps that's why he got into the job of interviewing people and asking difficult questions. What Tim does seems to be a lost art. Find someone who asks difficult questions to every person no matter there political affiliation. It seems there are based interviews not matter what station you watch, and the reason he was so fair in questions was because he cared about us, and giving us the information to make our own judgements.

[Sara Hugley]

Tim Russert cannot be described in a few words...as we all know there are so many wonderful things said about him in his eulogy. He truly knew what it meant to care for people--even if we don't know what is truly in his heart, we know that he demonstrated those engaging and caring feelings toward others. He is a very special guy that will be remembered forever.

[Ashley Ellingson]

From listening to other people talk about Tim I have learned that he truly was an all-around good guy. He made an impact on most people he came in contact with. He embraced the behaviors described above and took advantage of every day he was alive.