…..the towers fell, close to 3,000 people perished, and our world would never be the same. I was one of the many “fortunate” people who were able to watch the horror from the safety of my home. Like millions of other people around the word, I struggled to understand what was happening while I saw hatred and terrorism unfold in front of my eyes. While I was able to huddle close with my family and dear friends, untold numbers of families were being torn asunder forever. What have we learned since then?
My prayer is that we have learned compassion and empathy: that the only thing that lasts forever is love, and that life is short, fragile and unpredictable. I hope that we have learned that each new day is a gift, and we all have the opportunity each day to do the best we can to make the world a better place. Speaking kindly, visiting a neighbor, making a donation to a favorite charity. The list is endless, but the point is crucial: even in the worst of circumstances, we all have choices we can make as to how we will respond to the circumstances in our life.
Over the past 22 years there have been many poignant words written in remembrance of 9/11 and I am grateful for the reverence as well as beauty that they inspire. As I reflect on all that was lost that day, I also reflect on and give thanks for the helpers, the often unsung heroes of 9/11. The taxi drivers and restaurant owners, the “ordinary” people who immediately jumped into action and cared for their neighbors who had been attacked, were suffering and were terrified.
One of my dear friends who survived the attack says that his most intense memory is of the
feeling of kindness as people freely helped one another. The only thing that seemed to matter that day, my friend says, was that of strangers helping each other get to safety, without any pushing, shoving, or arguing, just with genuine kindness.
When my children were growing up, we would watch Mr. Rogers and he would often say,
“Look for the helpers.” There were so very many helpers on that horrific day. Let us look to them and ask ourselves each day how we can be a “helper.” What choices can we make each day to be kind, and true, to help bring beauty out of ashes?
Here are two 9/11 resources that I want to share:
Boatlift: An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resistance, narrated by Tom Hanks is for me an awe-inspiring and moving documentary that illustrates one of the profound truths of 9/11, that of our better nature coming to the fore, and humanity showing its best side. During a nine-hour period on September 11, over 500,000 people were rescued from Manhattan in a massive, spontaneous boat-lift. Kindness answered the call as hundreds of ordinary citizens came to one another’s aid.
Hymn for the Lost and the Living: In Memoriam, September 11, 2001 is a moving piece of music written by the American composer Eric Ewazen. This is yet another choice that was made to make the world a little more beautiful while acknowledging the joy and the sorrow that makes up our lives.
Domenica Rafferty, LPC 