As has been the case for the last six years, the days leading up to September 11th bring with them both sadness and reflection. September 5th is my father's Yahrzeit and the two events --both the personal and global--are forever linked in my mind. Last night I sat in the Cincinnati airport on the final leg of a long three weeks of travel that included many airports and security checkpoints. As I routinely went through the security motions for the thousandth time, I realized that the sixth anniversary brings with it a dullness of the pain and emotions of the day. My heart will always skip a beat and my chest will always tighten when I see any images of that day, but the sharpness has faded.
September 11th 2001 has had a reverberating impact on my life in ways that I could never have surmised at the time. I spent that evening (and the two months that followed) down at Ground Zero, the event also ushered in my connection to blogging when Peter posted my thoughts on his blog. And later that year I launched the Downtown Info Center to herald the rebuilding efforts Downtown.
But it was my experience at Ground Zero that will always remain deeply ingrained in my psyche. Although the events and images were horrifying, the experience of volunteering was one I shall cherish always. The volunteers at Ground Zero demonstrated the best of humanity at the same time we had just witnessed the worst. That sense of purpose and camaraderie across all races, religions and socio-economic divides is something I carry with me as a hopeful promise of what we are capable of as human beings. I keep in touch with some of my fellow volunteers and we make sure to check in with each other each year as a touchstone of emotional understanding. Unfortunately, as time passes the "spirit of Ground Zero" feels increasingly remote as our nation and the world recedes into fragmented corners viewed through myopic lenses.
As the saying goes, "time heals all wounds" and it is inevitable that we must (and should) move on and live our lives in the present and future, rather than in the past. However, as the sixth anniversary comes and goes, I can't help feel sad for the potential that we lost, the opportunity to unite and rise above our differences.
As always, my thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends who lost loved ones on that tragic day.
Previous reflections:
[Check out Anil's blog, for some of the most eloquent thoughts on 9/11]
