At A Moments Notice...

"Much of your pain is self-chosen. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility: For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen; and the cup he brings, though it burn your lips has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears." ~Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

I've recieved several e-mails lately questioning my haitus from my blog. After each one I'd immediately go to blogger and attempt to scribe yet another chapter of my life. Only, each and every time I'd find myself stuck...unable to put into words the pain I was expieriencing. It was too big, too much...so I usually x'd out the session and continued stressing the pain.

No lie, it has affected every aspect of my life. A brother is hurting. But a brother is also learning just how strong he is.

Someone asked me a few weeks ago what has been my greatest accomplishment to date this year. I thought for a minute and then answered: forgiveness. I've truly learned how to forgive. Nothing, and I do mean nothing compares to that. Now if I can only learn the importance of letting go...

Somebody pray for me...

I am a product of New York. I was born here, and will most likely die here. It is my home. My love. My life. Whenever I come across people who haphazardly bash New York for its fast paced, overpriced, ghetto-like facade, I instantly go on defense and begin to point out all that is good in New York. In truth you have to be a New Yorker to understand New York and its inhabitants. It must be in your blood. Transplants, vistors, and those whose main purpose is to compare New York to their "better home town" have no idea how wonderful this city is.

All of this comes as I sit glued to the television watching the 9|11 Hearings; whose main purpose is to discover why New York was not better prepared to deal with the catastrophic attack that all but crippled the most powerful city in the world. Listening to the officials, survivors and witnesses testify as to what they experienced that day brings back to life all of the mixed emotion I suffered through that day and the weeks that followed. When both towers fell, a part of me--the part that sought out the the World Trade Center for peace--died. My home had been violated. My world up-rooted. And for a while I floated through life lost. The constant visuals on television, coverage in the papers, and conversations with friends and family centered on the macabre and thus offered no relief. Everyone wanted to know, "Where were you when the towers fell?"

The question today is, "Can it happen again?"

We live in a time where war is prominent and the concern for human life is painfully low. Suicide bombers, radical leaders, and uninformed-unattached politicians continue to define our time, and our future. So it goes without saying 9|11 will happen again. Lives will be shattered and worlds up-rooted, unless we learn from our mistakes, and do something.

CONFIRMED DEAD: 2948 • REPORTED DEAD: 25 • REPORTED MISSING: 25 • TOTAL: 2998

Back to the hearings...