Voices of 9.11 - The Power of Story

Voices of 9.11 (excerpts) from Ruth Sergel on Vimeo.
I visited the New York Times Portraits of Grief, a Day of Reckoning - the 9/11 interactive area sharing stories from people affected by the events of 9/11.  Towards the end there were links to other sites with similar stories to tell.  These short vignettes speak to the universal power of story and of our shared humanity.

The stories chronologically march forward from dawn before the events took place through into the evening in a montage of story at different locations around the northeast.  Yes they are painful at first but somehow in their telling they create a state of gracefulness rather than grief per se.  At the end of the collage of excerpts of stories from that day those who collected them shared the reflection that no matter how apocalyptic the events seemed at the time a shared sentiment by those telling their stories was "life moves on".

Perhaps life moves on yes, but it is important to never forget.  I say channel the emotion which will no doubt well up in your throat towards positive ends. Find someone you love and tell them how much you appreciate them.  Do something kind for someone in need for no reason other than it's the right thing to do.

Together let's move forward recognizing we can't change the events of the past.  However we can channel the stormy emotions we feel toward positive ends rather than focusing on the negatives.  While much has changed due to the events of that day the strength and beauty of our shared humanity powers us forward.  That's all we have isn't it?