The silence is deafening. Just as it was that morning just a week ago. The day dawned perfectly, the light licking to life the soft swells of Nantucket Sound. It would be the first morning that Senator Edward M. Kennedy would not open his eyes to gaze fondly upon the waters he so dearly loved. Had things been different, he undoubtedly would have rousted a crew and spent a perfect day sailing aboard the Mya, with his beloved dogs Sunny and Splash at his side. Instead, the Kennedy Compound, and in fact all of Massachusetts, was eerily quiet and subdued.

Now, a week later, the silence prevails. A week of watching a splendid last goodbye to the Massachusetts senior senator, followed by political posturing over what happens next, has only served to starkly illuminate the great void that has been created by his passing. The quiet is deepened through all the people he personally touched and the myriad lives he changed. His booming voice – in passionate debate or hearty laughter – no longer echoes the halls of the Capitol or the Cape. The phone calls and kind remembrances no longer come.

Ted Kennedy, in his own words, was not a perfect man. But than none of us are. Yet his public service and many gifts to others lend us all lessons to live by. Here are a few offered during the many remembrances held:

• Always be prepared to compromise, but never compromise on your principles.
• Even our profound losses are survivable. It is what you do with them, and how they can be transformed into something positive, that is important.

• Treat everyone you meet, no matter their station in life, with dignity and respect.

May we continue to be inspired and motivated by his example to continue the work that meant so much to him. The work goes on. The cause endures. The hope still lives. And the dream will never die.

Rest in Peace Senator Kennedy.