Each year for the last 10 years I’ve connected with a former colleague and friend with whom I experienced the horrible devastation of 9/11. We take turns reaching out to one another and typically set a lunch date to catch up – to reach out and reconnect in some small way – around this anniversary that so many Americans share. Life goes on in the form of weddings, job change, babies, kids tripping and falling and picking themselves up.
Today in a hasty phone call we shared our feelings as we looked back. More thoughtful? Perhaps. More emotional in our remembrance? Yes. But why?
On this anniversary, things were different. We looked for something different to hold on to; to define us. More than work. More than family.
Maybe the shift in awareness of our vulnerability to all things evil set the course for us so many years ago. The need to race toward our ultimate self, who we are supposed to be and what we are supposed to accomplish doesn’t allow us to rest.
Maybe feeling that the simple things in life are all that matter. My friend shared with me that, after the remembrance event she attended this morning she returned to the office, grabbed her keys and drove, seeking confirmation that dreams can become reality.
She had an address. She had the need to stop and sit and think that, after all that we endure we can distill things down to what we need, what we feel we have to accomplish… a small space in the world called The Little Bleu Cheese Shop.
Thank you. I love you for it.
Originally posted September 12, 2012 on The Little Bleu Cheese Shop Web Site