14 years ago, our world changed in the most profound of ways. Socially, economically, politically, intellectually, and ideologically, the way we connect and identify as humans changed in both the subtle and the salient. Just as the impact was felt in the 20th century for events such as Pearl Harbor, the Fall of the Berlin Wall, or the Bombing of Hiroshima, the events of 9/11 resonate just as deeply, perhaps in ways we will never know or completely understand.
As we remember this day, we will likely experience a spectrum of emotions. And, we have every right to those emotions. They are ours and no one can tell us what or how we feel. Be it anger, sadness, fear, disbelief, bitterness, disgust, desperation, hate, or anguish, these are our feelings. We may not be able to control them; however, we can control our actions in response to them.
While no one can be told or instructed what the proper or appropriate response is in remembrance, there is perhaps a way to honor the loss as well as the continual sacrifice. And, it is perhaps through the loss of life that the lesson can be learned… that we may learn how to give in life.
As we remember, we can make a choice to honor those who have lost through the giving in life and through life. In not so much what we do, but how we are toward one another. How, we choose to live out our lives; how we choose to interact, engage, and relate with others. Perhaps the best way for us to remember, is to commit ourselves to giving in life by living life out in a most meaningful, positive, and edifying way toward one another by being kinder, more compassionate, more understanding… by being better people.
It has been 14 years since 9/11. While each year doesn’t necessarily get any easier, with each year that does pass, we have that much more opportunity to give more and be better toward one another.
