that as an elected official, I had become a symbol. What mattered to her was that I showed up. In contrast to my student or consulting days, the value was not in the cleverness of what I had to say, but simply the fact of my being there.
again, compassion! It does make me think of the advice: never enter the sacred place of another's pain without the name of Jesus on your lips - not because you want to preach but because Jesus showed us how to have compassion.
