The delicate moment in our history created by the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a time for reflection but also an opportunity to learn. Ginsburg’s life modeled that of a feminist trailblazer whose legal prowess was unprecedented; her death leaves a vacant seat on a powerful court often split by one vote.

Conservatives who disagreed with Ginsburg’s jurisprudence and who desperately want her seat filled with a conservative judge like her late friend Justice Antonin Scalia would do well to pause a moment and consider her legacy. Liberals who have skipped mourning and the perspective it brings and instead gone straight to panic should linger too. Before a divided nation prepares for a nomination battle, the passing of a legend beckons all of us to stop for a moment.