inflections and impermanence

空の向こう越える為のこの人生の抑揚 - 嵐, 『Believe』

[to overcome what's beyond the skies, the inflections of this human life - Arashi, "Believe"]

I can't believe it's been ten years.

When I first heard about the crash on the Twin Towers, I was eating a bowl of cereal and watching the morning news. Nobody I knew was directly affected by the attack. I remember the myriad television segments covering, adults around me explaining that something incredibly sad and terrible had happened, and our school holding a penny donation drive for the Red Cross 9/11 victim's fund. We were told to be proud of our nation under God, that we would stand strong against the terrorists endangering us, and that we should be thankful for the lives we were blessed with. In the midst of adversity, we cried collective tears of red, white and blue.

I mostly remember not understanding. We were bombarded in this haze of images showing grief, destruction, pain - but none of it registered as "real" to me.  I was 7 years old. The world revolved around me, and I couldn't fathom why people were making such a big deal out of these buildings which I had genuinely never heard of before that morning.

Ten years later, I get it. I get the sheer worry and pain and terror that these victims and their families experienced, and I'm taken aback by how anybody could willingly destroy so many lives. And while I admit I don't know what to think regarding these conspiracy theories, terrorism, and who to blame for this blow to the American psyche, I respect the bravery of the citizens who attempted to rescue people from the destruction. I admire the passengers of Flight 93, am thankful that there are servicemen who put their lives on the line for other people, and hope that the people forced to a tragic end now rest in peace. My thoughts in particular go out to relatives of the deceased as well as survivors of this ordeal - I hope by this time they've all found some sort of solace and closure to this dark chapter of American history.

This past spring break on my trip to New York, I visited the National September 11 Museum and was reminded of how deeply this attack on our national symbols affected the American people. But mostly I found myself proud that while we haven't forgotten, we've moved on in honor of the people lost. In the aftermath of a tragedy, we pick up the pieces, rebuild, and become a stronger people - a stronger nation. This state of impermanence, existence's constant state of flux, is a reminder that while we may suffer misfortunes, better times will inevitably come.

Today we remember the ordeal, grieve for the victims, and in their honor our stars and stripes fly half mast. Today, we are reminded of the dangers life as a human entails. We are reminded that while some people will cause hardship, it we can be the better people, we can be strong, we can rebuild, we can carry on.  Most importantly, we are reminded of how beautiful our world can be.

Michelle Obama says "we recall the spirit of unity and compassion that bound us all during that time. We remember the heroes that rose up, the neighbors who reached out, and those countless moments when the ties of family community and country felt stronger than ever. That is the spirit behind the September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance. It's a day to honor our heroes with thoughts and prayers, but also with action."



I've already spent time volunteering this weekend and cannot commit to doing more today, but I hope you lovely readers are inspired to do some sort of service for our country not only today, but over the rest of the year as well. We can all step up to the challenge.

-K