Friday, September 11, 2015

There was good on 9/11

September 11, 2001, was quite a day in our history.  It was the day that we knew we would never forget.  It was a day that challenged the very fiber of our Nation's being.  It was a day that I remember almost minute by minute.

I remember sitting and wondering how calculated were these attacks, are they going to fly a plane into Pantex.  I thought this, and looking back what a shallow thing to think about in a moment of hysteria.  My mind went to me.  I even chided myself  at that moment. There were going to be thousands of families who would have empty seats at the dinner table that evening and forever. Families were going to grieve, and here I was, worried about my safety.  I remember having this internal dialogue with myself while I sat and watched the buildings fall in complete horror.

I found myself seeing the world differently, and fully all in the same time.  I could no longer feel like this isolated person who didn't care about others.  Because, I certainly did care about others.  I cared deeply for others.  My heart was hurting.  My soul wept for the families, for the broken and lost families.

This was the moment.  This was the moment that, what I am today, began.  I watched up on the TV the comradery of our nation.  I saw us united by tragedy,  Churches overflowing with people.  The connectedness and love being seen.  Everyone feeling like it was our duty to appreciate our neighbors.  We felt the melting pot of humanity was the tie that bound us together.  We were a strong nation that day and the months after.  We could not have been a more solid people.  There was an electrical current or love that seemed to keep us sane in the midst of an insane time.

We were intentional in our outpouring of support for our nation.  It was a time when there was a sense that we could accomplish anything.  We were united for a brief moment in history.

I loved that 9/11 brought that out in us.  What the heck happened.  We could not be more divided, and divisive.  We have gone back to throwing stones and being total jerks to one another.

It didn't take long, but those brief moments have shaped me, some would  say naively, into the person I am.  I believe we can work together to solve the problems that plague our society.  I think we can do it.  I believe it because we did.  We just have to get past ourselves to do so.

That's what changed our nation.  We thought of others even before ourselves.

Let's go back to that moment in September and discover ourselves again.  

No comments: