I sat for several hours, trying to type something that would be good enough to express my feelings around the 9/11 remembrance. After hours of typing pages of content, only to 'select all' and then hit, 'delete', it finally dawned on me - there will never be any words that will be good enough to really express the pain, the sadness, the hope, the strength, and the faith that 9/11 represents. When I watch the stories on all of the children who lost their parents... the spouses who lost their soul mates... the friends who lost their confidants... I search for some sense of 'why' or 'goodness' out of the horrific events. And, while I wish I had an uplifting answer that made some sort of sense of all of the malicious and hateful actions that took place on the day of 9/11 , I usually come up short for the right words. Perhaps you have felt the same way... saddened by the events... wishing you could somehow help to make peace in the world... feeling as if the issues may be far bigger than anything you alone can change or tackle.
As I was reflecting on these thoughts, I heard a song, sang by Kid Rock, called, "Care". It dawned on me that this was exactly the answer I had been seeking. Some of the words are as follows:
I can't stop the war
Shelter homeless, feed the poor
Can't walk on water
I can't save your sons and daughters
I can't change the world and make things fair
The least that I can do,
The least that I can do
The least that I can do is Care.
The truth is that it is our individual actions that will change the world. It isn't some act of Congress. It isn't some balanced budget. It isn't some treaty that is signed. It is the actions of each one of us, starting at an individual level, that will change the energy in the world. I think we wait for our government to save us, or someone higher up to make a good decision to lead us out of the place we are in... but the answer is, it starts with us.
By caring about others... by taking the time to listen... by taking the time to learn about someone else's beliefs, and their culture... by holding the door for a stranger... by smiling to someone on the street... by helping someone without asking for acknowledgement... by creating positive energy in our own space... we will then eventually be able to change the world around us.
Because when you care about someone else, it in turn, usually inspires them to care about someone else in the world, and then they pass it forward... a domino effect happens, and the world because a little more loving... a little more forgiving... and a little more happy.
This concept will never bring back the 3000+ people who lost their lives senselessly during the events of 9/11. This concept will not make the acts of 9/11 right. This concept doesn't make the pain and the hurt of the past any less devastational. But, what this concept does is change the future of our world. By putting a little more positive energy in the world one person at a time, we can shift the pain and hate in the world little by little. It won't happen overnight but eventually, this shift could move mountains and perhaps allow us to understand each other better, and live with less hate and negative energy.
So, I challenge you, in remembrance of 9/11 - to take the time today to sit and listen to someone... hold the door for someone... smile at stranger. You can start to change the energy of the world by making choices to put your positive energy out there. Live with gratitude, speak with kindness, act with a sense of caring and live your life with the intention to leave this world a better place than you entered it. It all starts with you. We can heal the world by starting with one small act of kindness. We can heal the world by caring about each other. We can heal the world.
So what are you waiting for? There's a door that you could be holding for someone right now.
