We all remember where we were and our initial thoughts as we watched American flight 11 cruise into the North Tower, with United Airlines flight 175 following into the South Tower.
Disbelief washed over an entire nation...then panic...and then....reality.
Reality of what we were dealing with, and what we were in for. Reality of every single victim, every individual tragedy.
...and then support, in every single direction to guide the rest of us to some semblance safety.
11 years later, America has come very far. Yes we're in economic turmoil and yes things have been trying in so many different ways....but as a unit we've come far. We've evolved many times over. And it stems from that day.
So much happening and turning our worlds around, the enemy had made us vulnerable. Sure we immediately retaliated as a nation, but individually and within our families...we remained vulnerable. Life as we knew it would NEVER be the same. Never could be the same. As natural beings we recognized the call, and we submitted to it. Together.
There's a beauty in vulnerability, and the challenging times in our lives. Through grief, struggle, uncertainty, fear, and pain comes a rawness of the human spirit. It's the times we can naturally rely on one another without pride and ego's mixing in. Raw human experience reminds us that we are cut from the same cloth, and somehow together still WORK BEST as a unit.
I was 22 years old and remember walking down 40th Street from 8th Avenue toward 7th. It was after 4 or 5 days of non-stop news coverage, and check-in's with friends. Absorbing the sadness of who was no longer with us...yet continuing to take steps forward. Hearing the stories we all had, how we were all affected, yet feeling the clock ticking along as it always had. As I was walking, I took in the subdued city energy. New York City had slowed down and taken a moment. Nearly closed down. As we all took the moments we needed, together, to mourn what had once been.
As our City rallied and our nation rallied...so did we. A specific resilience I'd like to personally reserve for New Yorkers alone. We got back up, put our Grown Up pants back on, and did the best we could. Together.
I've felt this unity...this vulnerability to the circumstances...only twice in my life. Both times, I've thought it to be the most gorgeous of natural occurrences. I know I'm not the only one.
So, I encourage you.. implement a true practice of unity in it's truest form. Everyday. Remind yourself what that support meant to us all. Free from judgments and pride. Free from fears...NO MATTER WHAT! Everyday.
Never Forget.
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