I am in New York. I was fortunate enough to have a few hours of free time so I went online and purchased a guided tour ticket to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Others have told me about how well done the museum is and how moving it was.
It was breezy, cool and raining consistently in New York, a stark contrast to the beautiful weather of 9/11. After checking in I was directed down an escalator to wait for the tour guide. That was the beginning of an experience that I will not forget. I was struck by how tastefully the memorial was done. Each piece of debris, every recording gently and somberly walked me through the events of that morning. The tour guide did not manipulate emotion or dramatize anything. He carefully explained, chronologically, what happened that morning. As we descended to the bed rock of what was building one and building two, I could almost feel the weight of the buildings. It was relatively quiet given the number of people in the memorial. It was peaceful there. At one point in the tour we stopped and the tour guide told us a story. He showed us a beautiful mosaic of blue squares on a wall. It was at least 2 stories tall by 30 yards long. Our tour guide said “the blue squares in front of you represent the beauty of the blue sky on September 11. There are 1000 squares. Notice the squares are different shades of blue. The artist wanted to be certain that the various shades of blue represented the enormous variety or lives lost that day. It’s also a testament to the fact that despite the beauty of that day tragedy was everywhere. Behind this beautiful piece of art are the remains of the more that 1000 people who were never identified.” Then he was silent. So was our group. We stood there in stunned and reverent silence.
A couple hours later I walked out into the cold, dark rainy night. The memorial pools were lit beautifully. “It is December, the holiday season,” I thought. “Peace on earth is the theme.” Are there those that are willing to contribute to peace on earth? None of us will likely negotiate a peace treaty but all of us can commit to peace in our hearts. All of us can commit to being a source of peace in our social circles, our families and our communities. Be a source of peace this holiday and into 2017.
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