The Day After: September 12

We all know where we were and what we were doing on September 11, 2001.  I don't think there is a man or woman who was alive on that day, no matter what your age was, who doesn't recall in vivid detail their day.  But what about the day after?

What were you doing on September 12th?  Were you still stunned and immobile?  Were you trying to "get back to normal" as best you could?  Were you crying?  Were you praying?  Were you standing in line to donate blood?

September 11th was a dark day, not just for the country, but for the entire world.  Our response; the world's response, showed us just how much light we could generate when we banded together. When we worked TOGETHER for a common good.  When we gave what we could and then gave more.

It's important that we all honor and remember September 11th every year.  But it is also important that we remember and live as we did in the days that followed.  No I don't mean in sorrow and fear, but with love, compassion, caring and kindness.  If there is anything that we SHOULD have learned, it was how to treat our fellow man.  We saw how life could change in an instant.  We saw simple acts of kindness that touched our souls.  Have we forgotten that simply offering a glass of water or a tissue can mean the world to the receiver?

If September 11th was a day of terror, then September 12th and the days, weeks and even months that followed it were days of compassion.  We cared for our fellow man because that is what we NEEDED to do.  We STILL need to do that, but it is too easily forgotten.  We get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life, forgetting that it could all shatter in an instant.  Perhaps we need a reminder more than just once a year of what we can do if we join together.  What power and grace we have as human beings acting humanely.  Treating each other with kindness and compassion.

Why don't we honor those who did not survive 9/11 by not just remembering one a day, but acting as we should EVERY day?