Attention Please. In Memory of 9/11 Pay Attention to Your Instincts to Stay Alive and Survive.
Alice Aspen March
September 12, 2008
It´s another beautiful day, today, full of memories and a reality which just doesn´t go away.
Where and how to begin to honor that event?
There is still a huge hole in the sky line of New York. There are still no buildings arising from the ashes, no finalized building plan for honoring all the people, dreams, spirits which were crushed that day. Why?
The volunteers, the fire fighters, the doctors, the paramedics who rushed to help have developed huge medical issues from the toxic substances that were released. The survivors who walked miles home still carry images of what happened to them and to others. People watching the television still can see people jumping out of the flaming buildings. Jobs were lost, businesses were lost, and stability was lost by hundreds. It was a very huge event. This is not new news! And some people still wonder: did this really have to happen?
There have been abundant stories told by numbers of people whose lives have been changed and damaged since September 11, 2001. Many, fortunately, have told us of the way they´ve survived and gone on with their lives. There have been new marriages, new babies born. And we continue to hear about those whose physical bodies have been compromised. There was such franticness that day; people just ran to help. Their cost of not paying attention to the environmental issues has been enormous. What have we learned from that?
I have a very personal connection, as one of my adopted daughters lost her husband, the father of her three young children, on that day. I´ve been watching what she´s gone through personally and with her kids. I even went to New York on the third anniversary to be with her. I know how these four people have suffered, as they dramatically lost the attention from their husband and father in a moment. He was a mighty attention giver for many reasons. He was tall, present and very energetic, so you felt him immediately, when you were with him. He had a giant of a job in the financial world, and all who knew him were impressed by how young and capable he was.
I met him, before they were married; I stayed in their apartment after they were married. I saw their lives unfold, as the children came to join them. I know how his absence has impacted his family, mind and body-wise. Attention is a major part of our lives and when it suddenly disappears, we feel it, we miss it and often we have to act out to get some from other places.
Attention, in so many ways, is an operative word here when writing about this day. Was our government paying attention to some of the information it had? Were people in the buildings paying attention to some events that took place in the week-end prior to the event? Did people pay attention to their gut sense, when they were told to go back inside the buildings rather than go out to safety? Some people did and lived to tell about it. So, perhaps, it pays to pay attention to our feelings, to own our instincts, to stop taking orders from people under stress, to figure out what we really need for ourselves. Learning how to take care of ourselves emotionally and physically is really essential in our world, and that learning comes from the inside, where we need to make connections to our minds and our bodies. The more we are addicted to all the technology that keeps presenting itself to us, I Phones, cell phones, Blackberries, Television, Video games, the more we disconnect from our human resources!
Now, are we giving these survivors the kind of attention they need and want to be healthy and whole again? I am grateful that as a country we´re beginning to recognize that anyone who experiences any dramatic trauma needs support, people to listen to them, people who can make them feel safe and whole again. In a sense, both the 9/11 survivors have a common bond with our returning military who need the same kinds of attention. Whether it´s guns, bombs, fire, it´s all trauma and it´s all abuse to the human condition. Positive, nurturing attention does much to heal minds and bodies. There are lessons to be learned from 9/11. Paying attention in our lives is essential to survive, to thrive and to strengthen our humanity.
Where and how to begin to honor that event?
There is still a huge hole in the sky line of New York. There are still no buildings arising from the ashes, no finalized building plan for honoring all the people, dreams, spirits which were crushed that day. Why?
The volunteers, the fire fighters, the doctors, the paramedics who rushed to help have developed huge medical issues from the toxic substances that were released. The survivors who walked miles home still carry images of what happened to them and to others. People watching the television still can see people jumping out of the flaming buildings. Jobs were lost, businesses were lost, and stability was lost by hundreds. It was a very huge event. This is not new news! And some people still wonder: did this really have to happen?
There have been abundant stories told by numbers of people whose lives have been changed and damaged since September 11, 2001. Many, fortunately, have told us of the way they´ve survived and gone on with their lives. There have been new marriages, new babies born. And we continue to hear about those whose physical bodies have been compromised. There was such franticness that day; people just ran to help. Their cost of not paying attention to the environmental issues has been enormous. What have we learned from that?
I have a very personal connection, as one of my adopted daughters lost her husband, the father of her three young children, on that day. I´ve been watching what she´s gone through personally and with her kids. I even went to New York on the third anniversary to be with her. I know how these four people have suffered, as they dramatically lost the attention from their husband and father in a moment. He was a mighty attention giver for many reasons. He was tall, present and very energetic, so you felt him immediately, when you were with him. He had a giant of a job in the financial world, and all who knew him were impressed by how young and capable he was.
I met him, before they were married; I stayed in their apartment after they were married. I saw their lives unfold, as the children came to join them. I know how his absence has impacted his family, mind and body-wise. Attention is a major part of our lives and when it suddenly disappears, we feel it, we miss it and often we have to act out to get some from other places.
Attention, in so many ways, is an operative word here when writing about this day. Was our government paying attention to some of the information it had? Were people in the buildings paying attention to some events that took place in the week-end prior to the event? Did people pay attention to their gut sense, when they were told to go back inside the buildings rather than go out to safety? Some people did and lived to tell about it. So, perhaps, it pays to pay attention to our feelings, to own our instincts, to stop taking orders from people under stress, to figure out what we really need for ourselves. Learning how to take care of ourselves emotionally and physically is really essential in our world, and that learning comes from the inside, where we need to make connections to our minds and our bodies. The more we are addicted to all the technology that keeps presenting itself to us, I Phones, cell phones, Blackberries, Television, Video games, the more we disconnect from our human resources!
Now, are we giving these survivors the kind of attention they need and want to be healthy and whole again? I am grateful that as a country we´re beginning to recognize that anyone who experiences any dramatic trauma needs support, people to listen to them, people who can make them feel safe and whole again. In a sense, both the 9/11 survivors have a common bond with our returning military who need the same kinds of attention. Whether it´s guns, bombs, fire, it´s all trauma and it´s all abuse to the human condition. Positive, nurturing attention does much to heal minds and bodies. There are lessons to be learned from 9/11. Paying attention in our lives is essential to survive, to thrive and to strengthen our humanity.
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