Remembrance and Reflection

Ten years.  I often wonder, especially on the anniversary date of any major occurrence,  why we make such a big deal  of remembering events 5, 10, 15 years after.  I mean, today we pause our daily lives and remember how we felt when we first learned that our country was under attack.  Why not do this every year.  Or every day.  Is it morbid to dwell on it?  Is it too tough for our psyche?   For almost 3000 families, they remember every day.  The terrorists that planned and executed the fateful attack on September 11, 2001, wanted to create an even that would never be forgotten.  In an unlikely way that is what they did.  But what they didn't count on was that the act of remembering would make us stronger.  

As we picked up the shattered pieces of our lives, and helped our neighbors rebuild their strength and lives, we found our way back and became stronger.  Each piece of the shattered life of Americans, found it's way and became a prism that reflected light and strength in many dimensions.  We bonded together and rebuilt.  

The strongest qualities Americans possess are resilience, hope and faith.  Resilience to spring back , to know that damage and destruction and tragedy are temporary states.  Hope in the spirit that things we cannot see can be attained.  Faith in God and our fellow man.  

Remembering on anniversary dates is due and noteworthy.  But even greater strength will be attained by remembering every day.

I spent part of the day reading this collection  compiled by National Geographic.  The pictures are hauntingly real and disturbing.  But we must remember .  September 11, 2001 must remain as clear a memory to us that lived through it, as Pearl Harbor was to our grandparents and parents.  Perhaps it needs to remain even clearer.