Every person can recall what it was like. In the massive unfolding tragedy you looked at television or to the sky, and you felt inside your skin the death of hope that anyone would survive. A shadow blotted out joy, and behind the shadow, evil worked to make sure that joy never returned. Of course that can’t happen. No one can be in pain forever. Fear isn’t here to stay. It just felt that way.
Suffering can be defined as the pain that makes life seem meaningless. Animals suffer, of course, and often deeply. Some are capable of mourning for their kind if one dies. Humans, however, are subject to complex inner pain that includes fear, guilt, shame, grief, rage and hopelessness. It was an illusion to think that our society was immune to such suffering. That illusion abruptly burst on Sept. 11.
Around me people reached out, beseechingly, for how to cope with their suffering. I offered this: “Don’t be afraid to ask for contact. Reach out and tell your loved ones that you do love them, don’t let it be taken for granted. Feel your fear. Be with it and allow it to be released naturally. Pray. Grieve with others if you can, alone if you must.”
I would offer the same today.
Published by The Huffington Post: original prayers, reflections, and blessings written in honor of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11.