Nine / Eleven

Nine / Eleven

We all remember where we were on that fateful day, don’t we? We all realized that something of epic proportions was going on when we saw that second plane hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

I was pushed back into my seat as I watched television that Tuesday morning. The announcers were beside themselves trying to figure out what was going on. They gasped as we did, when we all realized this was an attack.

The we heard that people were coming out of the buildings and there was a mad scramble to try and figure out what to do.

We sat breathless as the action unfolded in front of us. People were leaping out of the building as fire swept through those upper floors. And then the buildings came tumbling down, one after the other. It was a nightmare, pure and simple.

Did you feel the pain and suffering of those dying in the flames and subsequent collapse of the buildings? Did you feel your stomach do a summersault each time a news reporter announced that the Pentagon had been attacked as well?

I know I did. I felt it all right down to my bones, and still do as I write this out. It turned out to be a massive day of mourning for all of us here in North America, and around the world as well. Terrorists had struck right in the heart of the West and dealt us a powerful blow. We went into a collective state of shock as a result.

Then we heard how many people died, nearly 3,000 in total. A huge number! An unbelievable accounting! A few people here and there dying in a car crash is one thing, but several thousand dying as a result of a deliberate attack, that was a whole other matter.

We came together that day though, didn’t we? We huddled together, gathering up the news bits and digesting each morsel as it was dished out to us. We were hungry for answers.

That’s how it is with tragedies on such a massive scale. We were thrust into a state of mourning almost immediately as our sense of security was smashed into pieces. We had lost that state of innocence that began to look more like complacency once we were awakened by that drama.

It’s been a few years now since that tragic event. We’ve been doing our healing work ever since. Now we’re ready for other things in our lives, like safety, security and a desire to show ourselves to the world again. We can’t afford to be complacent any longer.

I know I gave it up and became fierce in my resolve to never let such a tragedy destroy me, or put me in some state of denial about my existence here on this planet. I became determined that day. I cried because I had to. My feelings hurt. My heart went out to all the family members who were looking for their loved ones in the days that followed.

“Have you seen my husband, wife, daughter, son or friend? If so, please call . . . Please, please call!

He answered our call on that day. He said “You are greater that this. This too shall pass. But you can’t afford to be asleep any longer. You have to wake up now and bring Me your glorious gifts. Do you not see how important that is? I did! My stomach started churning right away, but I was determined to bring forward my gifts.

You can still grow love as a result of such events, if you reach deep down inside to the very core of your being. You can bring love out to the world after such events if you allow yourself to FEEL.

Move past the anger. Move past the hurt. Get over the need for revenge and get back into shape. Your heart sorely needs you and wants to come forward to show who you truly are. In that regard, we are blessed by such events. We can grow even stronger than we ever thought possible.

It is horrible to witness such a tragedy. It is worse to gain nothing from it.

Don’t waste your time bemoaning the fate of the bad guys. They made their choices and have to answer for them. As they rose to wherever they were going, they had to face 3,000 murdered souls when they arrived on the other side. How do you think that felt?

We are better than that aren’t we. We are capable of far more than simple revenge. We can climb the highest mountains with our dreams.

Be Creative! Be fearless! Be loving in all your endeavors! Don’t let death cheat you out of who you really are. You are greater than death. The latter holds no power over you, only that which you assign.

So let’s look death squarely in the face and say “Show me what you’ve got.” When death answers, we can safely say – “I got over it. I survived it. I grew from it.” We can all grow through our experiences of death and loss, even this one, if we allow ourselves to feel. That’s the message of this book.

Here’s to all of us and the Fierce Love that was born on that fateful day – September 11, 2001.