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9/11 Anniversary Post

To celebrate 9/11, I sent my DH to NYC for work. I kissed him goodbye this morning and waved to him as he drove to the train station to take him to NYC. He will be there tonight and tomorrow he'll be in White Plains for work. As I do this, I pray for the families that lost their loved ones and pray that mine will be safe at home soon. This may sound a little melodramatic to some, but I believe that 9/11 is our generations Pearl Harbor and yet even more so. Unless you were on the West coast, Hawaii seems so far away, even though it is American soil. As Americans, we always feel geographically sheltered, being so far away from areas of conflict. For an attack to happen on American soil, and more importantly on the East coast of the US, it brings our idea of security in question.

My DH was supposed to be in NYC in the financial district on 9/11/01. It was only fate that made him decide to hold off that trip and go to his Malvern, PA office instead. He was driving there when he heard the news on the radio, called me and turned around to come home. We all went home that day in utter shock and disbelief.

We cannot live in fear, though. And so I kissed him as he left for work this morning. I'm not a "Happy Clapper" as Tertia likes to refer to them, but my spiritual self finds the need to make an issue of those that think that being a martyr is killing yourself in order to kill others that may not agree with your beliefs. A martyr in my definition is the following: "One who reveres human life no matter what. They will let others take their lives and not raise a hand to those that oppose them because they appreciate life and would not hurt another human being." Living in this way takes true grace and beauty. Taking your life is a waste of a life. Taking other lives is many times worse. With this definition, those that orchestrated the attacks that day and other suicide bombings across the world are not martyrs. The innocent victims that died that day were.

Julia Indichova from Fertile Heart sent an email that she was going NYC today and is having a moment to bow to the survivors of 9/11, meaning all humankind. I will also take this moment to bow as we do at the end of my instructor's yoga class. He always says something similar at the end:

We press our hands together at our heart
And bow to the creation that sustains us
And all other souls that are on this planet
May we love and support us all on this journey of life

-Namaste

Comments

Beth said…
I totally agree with all of your comments. I can't imagine what it must have been like for those of you living in the area that day.
5:24 PM
Lauren said…
Don't you know Belle's teacher told them it was planed that crashed into buildings and then the buildings fell down. And Belle asked her if they meant to crash the planes and then if they meant to kill all those people. Do you know her teacher then told them that she wasn't sure. So frustrated about it. If she was going to give such details to such young children then she should have been better prepared with her answers.
7:22 AM
Pixxiee said…
Hubby and I were in NY a few years ago - waiting for my ectopic pregnancy to dissolve so we could come home to New Zealand. We visited Ground Zero and Battery Park - and just remembered. As a 20 year old I had lived a few blocks from the WTC and had watched in horror when the planes hit. I still find it hard to imagine the devastation that can be caused by so few to so many. I'm glad your husband had a change of plans that day.
3:37 PM
Happy said…
OT, did you see the Fall Harvest Festival the Brandywine Wine Trail is hosting? It sounds pretty cool.
8:17 AM
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