Miss American Pie

As children, we very rarely question history. I remember sitting alongside my father on Saturday afternoons as he flipped channels looking for something new to watch or come across a movie he’d seen a hundred times before. It felt like more times than not he’d settle on another Kennedy Assassination Documentary. To me, as a kid this was American History – a story in time – I didn’t know life before it. To my father, it was a memory.

September 11, 2001 is the Kennedy Assassination of my generation.

The gut wrenching public attack our nation witnessed in horror. A day that changed the faith of Americans forever.

Every Story Has a Story

Here’s Mine;

It’s hard for me to believe this is the 20th year anniversary. Although I didn’t lose anyone directly in the attacks, each year passes, and just like an impending date that marks the loss of a loved one, you think “I’m not going to be as emotional this year.” Until time brings back the memories.

The day that I remember takes me back to a seventeen year old girl, fresh out of High School. I had just graduated that June practicing Cosmetology. I had a full time job at a busy salon, I must have had this day off – a Tuesday. That morning, as I dried my hair after a shower, the first plane hit the World Trade Center’s North Tower. As I flipped my head up, and my hair fell back off my face, I saw the unfathomable scene replay, listening to the confusion of the reporters as they grasped for words.

2001 was an election year for our local congressmen. A bunch of my friends and I had been offered cash jobs to drive around Nassau County, Long Island, delivering ‘Vote For..’ flyers. We were young, and the money was good, so we jumped on the campaign train #Merica. We were scheduled to campaign push that morning. When we arrived at Nassau County headquarters, we were told to stay close, not to travel too far – no one was sure how the rest of this day would play out. The vibe felt eerie. I was seventeen – I didn’t know wtf was going on – but it didn’t feel like anyone else did either.

Clouds of smoke billowed in the distance, filling an otherwise warm and sunny sky. A sense of chaos, panic and uncertainty, undermined each expression I saw, yet we didn’t have a clue of the severity that was ensuing just miles away. The world had gone dark and we were released to safety.

The eastbound drive home on the Long Island Expressway lay locked in the archives of my mind. Westbound lanes had been closed to traffic, only granting access to first responders. As I rode in the opposite direction, I watched the brave men and women of our Island rush to their call of duty. One by one, fire trucks, ambulances and police cars – some whom indefinitely did not make it back home.

Ascension

The phone calls, home videos, graphic images, and personal stories from that day, have cooled in 20 year stone – but things still feel messy here – in New York, in Our Country, and in the World. I’ve spent the last 9 years studying spirituality; and here’s what I’ve learned: We Are Living In The Dawn Of A New Era. A shedding of old belief systems, social constructs and inequality. A rising in consciousness and light awareness are moving us closer to more harmonious ways of being. It may not feel like this to you – yet.

To be alive during this time means your soul has agreed to take part of a massive shift in evolution. Your Unique Light Is Needed. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the state of our world right now, but we are being encouraged to keep holding a clear vision for our future – Keep Faith.

The World Is Changing

As a collective, we’ve begun to reexamine our lives. We saw these palpable changes come to fruition when 2020 hit us like a ton of bricks. We reevaluated our priorities, and were reminded how precious life and connections truly are. This is a time of collective transition. The choices we make, what we stand for, what we teach our children to understand; the mark we want to leave on this earth for our future, and for the future of our children – is up to us. They say it all starts at home, the only way to heal the world around us is to first heal ourselves. So, if you feel like you don’t know what to do to see changes, start by being the change.

Keep a light on for our brothers and sisters – for our first responders and brave souls who fought for each other that fateful day, and days after. Choose Truth, Peace, Equality, Choice and Freedom. You are here for a reason. You can either get caught up in hate and fear, and spread more of that – or – you can reach into your soul and remember what you came here to fight for – PEACEFULLY.

Love. The answer is always Love.