9/11 to me

Today is September, 11^th.  It represents the ten year anniversary of what has lead to many changes in our country, and others.

I woke up that morning, it was my day off.  I was the Executive Housekeeper at the Embassy Suites.  I was talking to a dear friend of mine, Weenonah Bayer.  As we were talking we both happened to turn the news on and was confused.  We hung up trying to get a grip on it.  She has a son that lives near DC, so her focus was on that story.  Then the image that will forever be burned into my memory with little chance of being erased.  With smoke coming out of one of the towers, I watched as the big plane flew right into the other tower. After seeing it a couple of times, it still did not register to me what the hell was going on.  I called Nonah back and asked her.  When we both clued in, we both were hysterical for different reasons.

How did you react?  What did you do?  I wanted to go shoe shopping.  I could not find a store that was opened.  I threw a fit.  Yelling, using foul language, ready to fight someone, something…  I was mad as hell that someone did this to my country.  Even for that moment, New York was mine too!

The word I use today is numb.  I was numb then and I am numb now.  I don’t read books, I don’t watch movies and don’t like photos of that day.  I don’t know if it is too much for me to bare or as long as I don’t have to deal with it, I don’t have to deal with it.

That does mean I have not cried.  That does not mean I have not prayed.  And that does not mean that I have not given thought to those who lost their lives and who gave their lives that day (and the days following.)

I am not sure what our country has learned from this event.  I am saddened to read and listen to the words of others who condemn all Muslims for the events of that day.  I don’t understand how an entire group of people (in varying degrees of their faith) can be held accountable for the action of those who took actions that were not representing Muslims world-wide or ALL Muslims for that matter.

Andrea Raynor has been serving as a Ground Zero Chaplain since 9/11/01.  While working in the morgue for many weeks she received body bag after body bag.  She offered a blessing not knowing what religion the person had practiced.  One day, what was believed to be the remains of the hijackers were found, a worker helped here instead.  She asked “Was this body desecrated in any way when you found it?  Was it spat upon or treated in any disrespectful way?”  And what she was told brought her to tears.  The reply from the worker was “These remains were treated with the same respect as all the other remains.  After all, this is still someone’s son.”

Romans 12:5 tells us “…we are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.”  Reading that story conjured up many emotions, thoughts and visions.  I keep thinking of MLK being shot, JFK being shot, Harvey Milk being shot, and so many others.  I think of the rage of hate that others have when they want to bring harm or demonstrate indifference towards other human beings.  No one is a second class citizen.  We are all from the same universe, when we will start treating each other as equals? 

YES I DID

The wishbone is not a substitute for the backbone.  Coulda, woulda, and shoulda added together-equal nothing.  YOU are the author of your life story.  Not the media.  Not people or groups that say you are not worthy.  Not your past mistakes.  Turn the no you cant’s into YES I DID!

We know that up to 70% of the population in America does not attend worship on a regular basis.  Who can individuals, couples and families turn to when they need care & services traditionally found by a place of worship?  US!  We are Inclusive Life, and we serve all without exception.  Wedding Officiant’s-Premarital & Couples Coaching-Funeral Ministers-Pastoral Care.

(402) 575-7006     www.inclusivelife.org     

Today

In every nation there is work to be done.  In every community there are wounds to heal. And in every person exists a heart of hearts to accomplish it all.  In the US we have people who can’t afford to pay their cable bill.  In other countries finding food to keep their children alive is a daily struggle.  In some countries finding clean water to drink is the struggle.  We can make a difference.  If we choose to.

We know that up to 70% of the population in America does not attend worship on a regular basis.  Who can individuals, couples and families turn to when they need care & services traditionally found by a place of worship?  US!  We are Inclusive Life, and we serve all without exception.  Wedding Officiant’s-Premarital & Couples Coaching-Funeral Ministers-Pastoral Care.

(402) 575-7006     www.inclusivelife.org     

Ego's

This society has a great need for gratification, and the culture is says it's possible for everyone to satisfy all their needs and desires all the time which allows for one person at a time to get all of the blame via the clashes of ego’s. I long for a time when we focus on feeding our souls and not our ego’s; when it is easier to build someone up instead of tearing them down. Are you ready?

I’m 43 years old, soon (very soon) to be 44. That extra year may make a difference. I remember times growing up in Bellevue. I recall the interaction that everyone shared with each other. A level of respect, if you will, that I believe for the most part, is absent today.

It goes beyond listening skills, it goes beyond holding doors open, it goes beyond helping do all you can with what you have because it is the right thing to do. It goes beyond what and HOW we are taught as a society by ads, commercials, TV shows, movies, social media, and music. People seem to be mere commodities of disposable proportions, and you don’t have to be a gang member to behave like that.

It seems to me, that in my childhood, and I own that… MORE people realized that they lived in glass houses and so they didn’t throw stones themselves. Today there sure is a lot of finger pointing going on. This person does this, that person said that, this group does this, those people do this… Accepting personal responsibility for your own actions, your own life, your own truth, your own journey would go a long way in making this world a better place.

I can be the change that I seek in this world. If I point one finger at someone else, I will remember that there are three pointing back at me.

We know that up to 70% of the population in America does not attend worship on a regular basis. Who can individuals, couples and families turn to when they need care & services traditionally found by a place of worship? US! We are Inclusive Life, and we serve all without exception. Wedding Officiant’s-Premarital & Couples Coaching-Funeral Ministers-Pastoral Care.

(402) 575-7006 www.inclusivelife.org