A Heightened State of .....
"Stability is a false God, and on September 11 we paid dearly for worshipping it above all others," said Ralph Peters in a recent Wall Street Journal article.
I had to stop and think about that statement, as we’ve being encouraged to "get back to normal, go back to daily routines ... and return to stability" in our lives following that life-changing day—September 11, 2001.
There’s no doubt many Americans are examining their lives and their routines a little more closely. We are even changing those routines—making time to call a long-lost relative, former mentors, colleagues and old friends.
Indeed, that day was entered in my timeline of critical dates—childhood memories; the death of JFK; first high school sweetheart; college experiences; my wedding; major illness; incidents of pain, heartache, and embarrassment; college graduation of children; car accidents; death of loved ones; beginning a new business; remarriage; marriage of children; September 11.
Did I ever return to "normal" after time numbed the significance of those happenings? What is normal now?
Being programmed since birth to crave stability through peace, security, compromise, etc., I would choose safety over risk, routine over spontaneity, conformity over originality when choice was an option. Blinded by the goal of stability, injustices would be overlooked, as well as opportunities for fun adventure.
During the time of "America on alert" for other terrorists’ acts, I sensed we treated one another with a greater respect.
We did not hurry by someone on the street, but actually looked each other in the eye. We drove our cars, opened our mail, planned our trips, and kissed our loved ones with greater attention.
We gave from our hearts—time, money, blood—whatever we could.
We read about heroes from all walks of life and thought more seriously about our own convictions and patriotism.
I really don’t want us to return to the same routine or "normalcy" that was common prior to September 11. I don’t want to ignore potential danger around us, or "look the other way" so as not to get involved.
I don’t want the days, weeks, and months, to pass before reaching out to spend time with friends and loved ones—and making new friends. Perhaps it’s that my definition of "normal" and "stability" has changed from passive to one of action.
Caterpillar’s message in a recent Summit executive fax said it best: "It’s very hard to find the good things that happened during a year when September 11th happened. If anything can be viewed as positive about that day, we were drawn closer to the people we know. And that’s a good thing. Circumstances were such that we had begun to drift apart emotionally. Our increasing workload, the development of more electronic gimmicks and other things had caused it. Within an hour, on that fateful day, we were all forced to reevaluate our lives—and we decided we were losing touch with one another. And so, we’ve all changed—hopefully, for the better."
I had to stop and think about that statement, as we’ve being encouraged to "get back to normal, go back to daily routines ... and return to stability" in our lives following that life-changing day—September 11, 2001.
There’s no doubt many Americans are examining their lives and their routines a little more closely. We are even changing those routines—making time to call a long-lost relative, former mentors, colleagues and old friends.
Indeed, that day was entered in my timeline of critical dates—childhood memories; the death of JFK; first high school sweetheart; college experiences; my wedding; major illness; incidents of pain, heartache, and embarrassment; college graduation of children; car accidents; death of loved ones; beginning a new business; remarriage; marriage of children; September 11.
Did I ever return to "normal" after time numbed the significance of those happenings? What is normal now?
Being programmed since birth to crave stability through peace, security, compromise, etc., I would choose safety over risk, routine over spontaneity, conformity over originality when choice was an option. Blinded by the goal of stability, injustices would be overlooked, as well as opportunities for fun adventure.
During the time of "America on alert" for other terrorists’ acts, I sensed we treated one another with a greater respect.
We did not hurry by someone on the street, but actually looked each other in the eye. We drove our cars, opened our mail, planned our trips, and kissed our loved ones with greater attention.
We gave from our hearts—time, money, blood—whatever we could.
We read about heroes from all walks of life and thought more seriously about our own convictions and patriotism.
I really don’t want us to return to the same routine or "normalcy" that was common prior to September 11. I don’t want to ignore potential danger around us, or "look the other way" so as not to get involved.
I don’t want the days, weeks, and months, to pass before reaching out to spend time with friends and loved ones—and making new friends. Perhaps it’s that my definition of "normal" and "stability" has changed from passive to one of action.
Caterpillar’s message in a recent Summit executive fax said it best: "It’s very hard to find the good things that happened during a year when September 11th happened. If anything can be viewed as positive about that day, we were drawn closer to the people we know. And that’s a good thing. Circumstances were such that we had begun to drift apart emotionally. Our increasing workload, the development of more electronic gimmicks and other things had caused it. Within an hour, on that fateful day, we were all forced to reevaluate our lives—and we decided we were losing touch with one another. And so, we’ve all changed—hopefully, for the better."