Image courtesy of Lady Fi https://ladyfi.wordpress.com/

I hope we all take the time today to remember this date and to reflect on what is truly important.

I’ve posted about 9/11 for each of the past several years and while I don’t want to rehash those posts I do think there are some ideas and thoughts which bear repeating.

This is not a day for politics. This is not a day for proving a point.

This day is for counting our blessings and for taking some time to appreciate our commonality rather than dwelling on our differences.

The world is changing rapidly and it seems kindness has become the exception rather than the rule.

We’re becoming more and more polarized as we throw in with our respective “teams” at any cost. Civility has increasingly gone by the wayside.

We should never forget the events of September 11th, 2001 but more importantly we should remember how it felt, however briefly, when we were all on the same team…when we all shared the shock/anger/sadness/outrage and we related to one another with empathy and kindness.

So maybe on this day make an extra effort to cherish the people you hold dear and to be kind to all of those whose paths you cross, even if you don’t particularly like them and even if their world view opposes your own. Kindness is contagious and makes life so much more enjoyable.

I strive to get there every day and almost always fall short. Days of remembrance like this one remind me why I should try harder.