“Teach them how to say goodbye…”
– George Washington
There is a song in Hamilton called “One Last Time” where George Washington calls in Alexander Hamilton and tells him that he is stepping down as the President of the United States…
Completely flustered, Hamilton begs Washington to stay on and asks WHY Washington would possibly make this monumental decision…
This was Washington’s response:
“If I say goodbye, the nation learns to move on
It outlives me when I’m gone
Like the scripture says:
‘Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid.’
They’ll be safe in the nation we’ve made
I wanna sit under my own vine and fig tree
A moment alone in the shade
At home in this nation, we’ve made
One last time.”
Powerful words from our nation’s first Commander in Chief and Washington absolutely drilled it…
By Washington resigning as President, he effectively did teach the nation and all democratic societies how to move forward without their leader.
Washington then speaks of the fig tree and the nation being safe… After a long fought battle with Britain, Washington took over as our country’s ruler and helped establish a system of government that would outlive all of us by never relying on just one single person… Washington’s own vine and fig tree awaited, his work was done.
All too often in life, we simply don’t know how to say goodbye…
Our ego gets in the way and we feel like we need to continue to implement our words, actions and will in order to validate our self worth… Yet the reality of most situations is that by walking away, we will have a far greater impact than we could have ever dreamed of…
Washington concludes the song with:
“History has its eyes on you… We’re going to teach them how to say goodbye.”
Damn right it does George and damn right you did my man. 👊
-EB
P.S. Have you hopped on a Team GoHard Foot Reflexology Board yet?
