Mom called us in California that morning. She lived in Florida and had a 3-hour jump on us when it came to news.
“We’re under attack,” she blurted out in a scared trembling voice. “Turn on the television!”
And so, it started.
Now, 23 years later, I vividly remember that day and the aftermath: My speech for an aviation conference was cancelled. We stayed close to the television. Airlines stopped flying, and airspace around DC and New York was sealed. An old military base in Gander Newfoundland, Canada served host to 38 jets from around the world. The passengers in those grounded aircraft and the compassion of the residents in this Canadian province would later become a Broadway hit, “Come From Away”.
In my neighborhood, kids set up lemonade stands with money being sent to first responders. Within one-week, national newspapers carried stories of courage and self-sacrifice, of compassion and kindness. I vividly remember one account of a high-paid executive who announced her resignation. She said that making money versus making a difference was what mattered now. Then multiple stories of similar career shifts appeared.
My Resiliency Lessons from 9/11
My exploration into the world of resilience started with 9/11. Here are my resiliency lessons from 9/11:
Do what you can, when you can, with whatever you have. Moaning and crying over an event won’t help. Take a deep breath. Remember action is the antidote for anxiety. Put something in motion. Start small. But act.
Act with compassion. Compassion means with love and zeal for something or someone. What we witnessed on 9/11 was love being poured out to others, often to complete strangers. Families and strangers came together. Today, we desperately need that compassion in growing through challenging times.
Design small rituals that ground you for the day. Life is so uncertain. For me, a morning ritual of meditation followed by a run outside along my ocean centers me in body, mind, and spirit.
Express gratitude. I could write pages about the value of being grateful. Begin and end each day with either verbalized or written words of gratefulness. The horrific events of 9/11 caused all of us to stop, to reach out to loved ones, to mourn the sacrifice of so many. Those sacrifices continue today in our communities. Gratitude is not found in meanness, greed, selfishness and bigotry.
Know what brings you to joy in this journey of life. For many of us, it is the feeling of contribution and service.
It is my hope that these blogs and my e-zine do—in some small way—contribute to your life.
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