9/11 marks a pivotal moment in time, the largest terrorist attack in this country since the 1921 bombing of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It's a day that profoundly altered me, a day I hold in reverence, paying homage to the precious lives lost and the transformation it brought to those who endured it. While we no longer publicly recite the names of the nearly 3000 people we lost, their names endure in bronze at what will forever be, for me, Ground Zero.
In 2022, after 21 years, I finally visited the hallowed ground. I gave myself permission to relive those moments, to walk in my own footsteps, to look into the sky where I once saw United flight 175 soaring to its demise. In that moment, I was no longer myself. I was lost in a veil of desecration, clinging to the hope of, but not expecting, survival.
I walked that sacred ground, read the names, and added my tears to the flowing waters. NYC is where I experienced pure hatred, and in the aftermath understood the profound power and obligation of love, the energy that fuels my commitment to generate positive change today.
Never forget. Those of us who where there, never will.
Seanne
PS: To those who have endured trauma, remember to grant yourself the gift of grace. It's something I often overlook.