The Day After... and so on

August was a BLUR. It’s a tough month for me on a personal level. I actually wrote a lot and will be posting some to my blog in the coming days. BUT today, the day after September 11th, a day that shifted the dynamic for so many 18 years ago, I am alone with my thoughts. They began yesterday as I listened to name after name of fallen victims. Too many to stomach, a highlight of evil. I had to turn the TV off. I paused on my run to say a prayer, because we all know, for me, God and nature go hand in hand. Later, I scrolled past social media posts of debris, wreckage, flames, videos and photos of the absolute chaos, destruction and heartbreak that social media sent out like electricity. It was tough- understatement. To see pictures of people who were loved and lost, but never forgotten, hitting a major nerve as it always does. For my own mental sanity, I could not go there. I don’t like believing that really f-d up things happen, even when I know they do. Everyone has their breaking point, their need to share and decompress and feel unified. I get it and respect it. But for me, closing my eyes, remembering the sounds of voices on the other end, feeling so far from home, triggers a deep ache. Then coming home to the smell of heartbreak in the actual air makes me question so much. So I didn’t post. I enjoyed seeing the fundraisers for the fallen. It gave me a renewed hope that people (mostly) were able to set aside differences remember what it was like to be part of a collective society. People knew that even on the darkest days, hope was around the corner and 18 years later, here we are. Hope seems to be missing. Civility is missing. Faith and love are hashtags, not actions or a way of life. Everyone has a soap box and people become collateral damage to get points across in the loudest and often most offensive of ways. So here’s my September 12th post ABOUT September 11. Never forget that hope, love and faith are three of the most important words to speak, believe, feel and live by. Today, rise above and live a life that is kind, loving, responsible and full of hope. Believe in the good. Always. Shine bright- let it radiate. Lean on someone and be someone to lean ON. Take all the heartfelt sentiments of yesterday and the sense of community it brought and live a life of purpose, gratitude and dignity every. single. day. ✌️✨