Otherwise known as... America the Beautiful
In Learning French... in Japan, I wrote about my experience overseas on September 11, 2001. I still can't believe it's been 12 years. This afternoon I stopped by a class where my friend (I call her Lil' Bit, because she is tiny!) was teaching her students about the events of that day, and the importance of remembering all that happened on September 11th, and never letting it be just another day.
The lesson was powerful, and I felt privileged to share my story with students. Reflecting now, beyond the pain of that day, and the days after that, with our jets flying overhead as they practiced their maneuvers over the Kanto region in preparation for a strike on Afghanistan... What I most recall about that time is the outpouring of love that the world had for America, and the love that I felt from my community in Japan.
I told students today... You can get angry, but what does anger do for you? Those people that were just going to work that day, or flying to get somewhere they needed to go, didn't realize they were never coming home. So my lesson learned from this tragedy is not to take your loved ones for granted. Hug freely. Love openly. Live not just for now, but for something bigger than yourself.
The most important thing is to live a life that makes a positive difference in the world. My colleague today, who taught her students to understand the meaning, and the gravity, of September 11th, makes a positive difference each and every day because of the way she chooses to live her life. She is much younger than me, but knowing her inspires me to be a better person. Which is hard, because I think I already live a life of meaning. There's always room for improvement, and Lil' Bit showed me the way.
This evening I made chicken soupy goodness, with aromatic Asian spices, complimented by a lone jalapeno pepper, sans seeds, for my Stetson family. We feasted, then studied, then had a bit of dessert before disbanding in preparation of another big day tomorrow. I was glad to break bread with dear friends at the close of the remembrance of such a tragic day.
We will never forget.
In choosing to love, rather than hate, we are ensuring an America which is truly... beautiful.
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