A wound that should not heal...

Five years...

Like all deep wounds, this is one that will hurt for the remainder of our lives. But I think that while a certain amount of healing should be allowed, there is also a certain amount that should not.

When something like 9/11 happens, it is important that we not only do not forget the event, but we also need to remeber the pain. There are some that will never be able to forget the pain, because of the people that the lost in the various events of that day, but there are many more of us that will push the pain aside, or convince ourselves that it did not happen to us, and distance ourselves from it in a disconnected way.

Even if you did not lose a loved one in the towers, or the planes, you should still feel the pain of loss just as much as those that did. You should still feel the pain, or the pang of tears when they list the names of those lost, or who gave everything for those that they were trying to save.

We are all brothers and sisters in this Nation. Perhaps this comment sounds a little to wishy washy, or idealistic... but it is true.

As I sit here and listen to the names being recited at the site of the towers, I feel a dull ache in my chest and stomach when I think of the magnitude of the loss. All those children that will never see their parents, and folks that will never see their spouses again. The pain is that which I know will never go away... but when you think of the scope of the events of 9/11, then maybe that pain should NOT ever go away.

We are shaped, as a people, by the events in our lives. Both the good and the bad sculpt us into what we are and what we will be. We need to make sure that the lives that were lost, were not lost in vain. We need to remember that this is a learning experience and make ourselve and our world a better place. Sometimes this requires force of arms, and other times this requires a compasionate should to rest the heads of the wounded on... what will define us is when we know how and when to offer one or the other.

Blessings to you all... and the hopes for a brighter future.