More than "just" a day | September 11, 2001

Since I am from the NYC area, and was living
there in 2001, I knew many people who had
connections to the World Trade Center. I
knew many who were touched on 9/11 by the
devastation and the loss of someone.

I remember walking around the downtown area
a month after what happened. It was very sad.
There were pictures everywhere of loved ones
who were missing. The loss in so many ways
defies description, and yet we seek to describe
it any way that we can.

Today I was reading about how beautiful and
clear that day was. The person who wrote it
wrote that there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
He also went on to say that now whenever the
sky is so clear it reminds him of that day,
so now he always looks for at least one cloud.

For some today 9 years ago became a tribute
of what beauty and love could come from the
bonding of those affected by tragedy. For
others it became a reason to incite fear
and cause pain stemming from the anger that
came as a result of what happened.

The range is a vast as any there could be,
and likely depends much on what that day
meant for the individual.

To anyone who was affected by the events
personally or knew someone who was, my
heart goes out to you. Whatever you may
feel, I am certain, is something I could
probably never truly comprehend.

My heart also goes out to the world at
large, too, because I know in some ways
it wasn't the same after what happened.
Not only did people of varying faiths,
ethnicities, and citizenships die that
day, but so did something about what
the US stood for in the world.

The events did more than the facts of the
day relate. The effects still reverberate
in how we interact with our family, our
friends, our culture, and the world in
which we live.

What will history have to say about that
day? What will be understood in retrospect?
What associations made along the way will
carve out the historians' versions of
September 11, 2001?

I'd say it's an interesting
thing to consider,
and so is the fact that
every day and
every moment
we're actively
writing that history
by who we believe
ourselves to be,
and the actions we take.

Isis