RESOLVE
OF PEACEFUL PURPOSE
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My personal reaction to the events of 9/11/01
9/16/01:
It has been very hard for me to center and touch the many feelings I have struggled with this past week. I know we all are filled with a variety of emotions in these past days. Grief, anger, confusion, sadness.. perhaps even hope that the events of the week would lead to desirable actions. One thing that has happened is the world is more united than it has been in my life. The wars of my past were not popular or widely supported, and I hope wars are NEVER popular. But there is a united cry today that things must change. We cannot live in a world with this terror and fear.
Since Tuesday my emotions have ridden the waves of sadness, fear, and even times of loss of hope. Yes... even I can lose faith.. even I can find hope hard to cling to. It has taken all these days to find the light within me and have the rebirth of faith fill me again. And as is often the case in my life it's music and song that have touched me and brought my feet back firmly. I grew up in the 60's.. the days filled with songs, words, poems that led us and fed us and opened our eyes. Today those same words have once again served.
"Light One Candle"
"Revolution"
"Blowing In The Wind"
"He's Not Heavy, He's My Brother"
and of course... "Give Peace a Chance"People died this week. Innocents. People who only went to work, or boarded a plane to visit their mothers, brothers, and children. People who expected to come home and wash dishes, get on-line and check their email, ask their children how their day at school went. Each and every one of those people had a life. Each and every one had dreams, plans, opinions, talents, family, faults, careers, and a future. Each and every one will now never fulfill the potentials that were before them.
It's easy to become angry about that.
But remember please. Others died this week too. On the planes were people who were passionate about their beliefs. Who believed so very strongly in their 'truths' that they were willing to die for what they KNEW to be the right cause. These men (for I have not heard a single reference to any women among those accused) had families too. They had lives, feelings, opinion, talents.. dreams. I cannot fathom how they could embrace beliefs that would include killing innocents but I do know their beliefs were so strong in them they were willing to die for them. Some great politician once said that the enemy hardest to fight was the one who KNEW they were right and believed God was on their side. How very true. These terrorists believe with their entire being that they are right in their campaign. Allowing our response to be reduced to anger will only make their resolve stronger. They believe with their entire being that we are cruel, thoughtless, and uncaring. They lump all Americans in a cold and calculated group of power that strips their people of dignity and human rights. They do not know us very well. They see what they have experienced and been told of. They never met the thousands of people they killed. They had no idea that many weren't even citizens of the United States. They couldn't know that many were peaceful, caring and compassionate people who would give aid to anyone in need. They let THEIR anger rule them. Let us not become them.
This was not an attack on the United States. It may have been the intended target but when these misguided people struck down the thousands of innocents they struck at humanity... at the WORLD. And the world has bonded together to stand in unity against the attackers. More than the attackers.. against the entire network that creates such actions.
I have reflected long and hard on my feelings. I am a person of peace and hold my beliefs dear. It's difficult to know a peaceful solution to this situation but I know this: To react with violence will only create more violence. We cannot cut off the head of this serpent without spawning a thousand more. We must somehow starve this serpent and the offspring of it by not feeding it our anger. The only way I know to do this is with compassion. Give them nothing to feed off of. Do not lash out, do not kill innocents in retaliation. Embrace our brothers and sisters of ALL nations and ALL religions. Remember the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., of Gandhi, and of course of Jesus. For our victory to be lasting it must go deeper than anger, or even of the lives of those breathing today. It must go into the very heart and soul of our cultures. And not just in a few countries but in ALL countries.
If ever there was a time for the WORLD to unite it is now. Let us all put away our differences and borders. Let us embrace one another as fellow humans.. as brothers and sisters in humanity. Let us support one another, help one another, and stand together to renounce violence against our fellow human. Let us teach our children that life is sacred and that even if you do not agree with everyone that you can still honor and respect them. Let us look within ourselves and work to live that truth each day as an example to all. Let us not judge others by our misconceptions and prejudices but by the value of their being. We must stand strong, tall and steadfast. We must not cower in fear or hide under covers. We must step forward in strength and unity and declare that humanity will go beyond violence, we must evolve to our next phase of development: A world united.
Yours in PEACE.....
Linda aka Kyia
