On two poignant occasions, I have come to remember that no matter what happens, life continues to move forward. That even in the midst of my grief, the world still turned and somehow did not stop for me. These experiences were when I was en route to the cemetery for the burial of my grandmother and my mother, respectively, several years apart. How on Earth could those children be playing in their yard so happily like that? How could that couple be holding hands and strolling along? How could all of those cars drive to and fro, going about their business as though nothing had happened? It was a very strange sensation each time. Something felt as though it was coming directly from the universe – perhaps simply coming from the way that God has created things.
There is a time designated for everything – to mourn, to rejoice, to live, to die. But the beauty rests in that ultimately, life moves forward.
During this 10th anniversary year of September 11th, it has become apparent to me, that from my perspective, the world as we knew it before that fateful, terrible day, was forever changed – however, with varying degrees of firm definition. We remain in the midst of struggles regarding troops in Afghanistan and have a terror threat alert system, but few people know what to do with it. We, as Americans, live knowing, in the backs of our minds – that a terror attack can certainly occur here on our own soil and not just thousands of miles away, on television. Some first responders to the disaster on 9/11 seem to have to struggle for medical care for ailments stemming from their heroic acts. And perhaps the greatest overt change of all - air travel security. These, in addition to many other ways things have changed.
