The day began as most early September days began. Bedside alarm waking me up. Doing my part to make sure kids were up, dressed, fed and off to school. Getting ready myself. Walking across the church driveway to go to work. Beautiful early fall day! Within minutes everything changed. First plane flown into the World Trade Center. Confusion. Second plane flown into the World Trade Center. Panic. Like so many others I spent that day going back and forth between talking with others and praying with others, and watching the same horrifying, heart-breaking scenes played over and over again on the TV. The sunset that evening was particularly beautiful because of all the dust particles in the air.
Now, ten years later we remember.
We remember that day with a knot in our stomach and a lump in our throats.
We remember those whose lives were lost, and those families who still grieve.
We remember the terrible cost of ignorance and fanaticism.
But, I think that if we use this anniversary to only look back we are in trouble because we will risk becoming caught in a debilitating web of anger and fear and uncertainty. I think our only hope comes in looking forward, and in each of us making a pledge that today we will do something to make some part of this scary, complex, beautiful world…
A bit safer.
A bit more just.
A bit more whole.
A bit more peaceful.
Today it may be something with my family.
The day after that it may be something with my neighbor.
The day after that it may be something with a stranger.
The day after that, who knows…
It might the with the one who, today, we would name as our enemy.
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