I’ll never get over this view being gone. It was the most serene part of my day when I commuted to work from NJ. On the beautiful picture perfect New England days, I took the ferry instead of the Path train. Crossing the Hudson from the Lakawanna port at Hoboken to the World Financial Center via ferry was inexpressibly peaceful and my favorite quiet moment where the world seemed to stop and listen.
On this day 9/11, so many lives were forever changed and altered, even for those not in New York or who didn’t experience loss. Our lives were shifted to a thinking beyond brick and mortar to our own mortality. As I reminisce this day and pause in prayer for what was lost, I have to share my heart’s list of what was gained.
1. New Yorkers are not callous and cold. They are some of the most caring and courageous people I have ever been blessed to live among. From the sweet lady who held my hand on the bus that day to the firefighters and policemen who didn’t think twice before entering WTC and all that came together over the following weeks and months. These people have deep character and a love of others.
2. Be a person of character and be counted on. Courage cannot be faked. It is either there or it is not. Mark Twain said “Courage is resistance of fear, mastery of fear not the absence of fear”. It has to be already a part of your DNA, your habits, your character to go out on a limb against fear. Don’t hesitate to come when and where you are needed. Make eye contact with the scary things in life because you must face them to get through them.
3. Live in the moment and pay attention to your surroundings. After walking almost 60 blocks that day away from the World Trade Center, after both towers had fallen, after the air force was circling in the air, after soldiers were on the streets, after the subway shut down, I passed a nail shop where a woman was inside still getting her nails done. Really? People we have to live more intentionally, we have to live in the moment and see and feel what is around us or it will pass us by.
4. Selflessness is a rare commodity that we need to teach more. Go out on a thin branch for someone without question, without hesitation. We need to love and protect our brothers and sisters – as Christ said, love your neighbor as yourself. Are we teaching this to our kids, our culture anymore? Are we a people who will do this in and out of crisis for others? Will we put our selfish motives aside for the greater good? How many of us are Todd Beamers out there?
5. We don’t get to choose our burdens. Those families who lost loved ones that day didn’t choose that path. We don’t get to choose poverty, skin color, cancer, lyme disease, divorce or abuse. Life happens. Sorrow takes place. Choose how you handle it, how you attack it, how you walk it, how you put one foot in front of the other. Choose life despite loss. Choose life against death. Choose life in contempt of obstacles.
6. Be assured of your eternity. Today is fleeting. Tomorrow is not a guarantee. In whom do you put your trust? Do you have a certainty of your eternity? It is not something that you can put off. Its not something to be apathetic, passive or procrastinate. This is your forever.
In a blink, everything can change. Have you lived today well? Have you expressed your appreciation and love today? Are you grateful? Are you a loving friend?
Call someone today and tell them you love them. Write a note of encouragement. Don’t put something off that you can do today. Appreciate the breath you have today no matter how labored or difficult this day is, it is still a gift to have. Give a hug. Accept a hug. Pray.
Blessings and healing,
Janice Fairbairn – The Lyme Evangelist
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