Healing Field

I'm a few days late with this, but definitely wanted to share it. Last week on 9/11 we went to Tempe Beach Park to the Healing Field. (http://colonialflagfoundation.org/tempe/)

They place an American Flag for each one of the victims of that terrible day in September, 2001. Each flag has a yellow ribbon tied to it, and a picture of a victim, their age, their hometown, and where they were that day. We parked at the Tempe Center for the Arts and walked down and it was an amazing sight to see nearly 3,000 American flags waving in the wind. I felt so much like I do every time I visit Arlington National Cemetery.

And it was difficult to try and find the words to explain to my boys why those flags were there.

And I was struck by the dichotomy of our small boys - so innocent and full of life - running among all those flags that represented so many lives that were stolen in the "name" of something so dark....something that was so twisted.

I hope that our boys never have to see a day like that, but I know that there are more of those days coming eventually and we can't protect them from it. But we can help them remember that eventually peace and healing can come, even after very dark days.

I remember when Jeff and I were engaged and I went to visit him in New York in October, 2004. He took me to Ground Zero. After we moved to New York, I visited there often. I was just compelled to go sometimes because there was so much I learned there that benefited my life personally. While tragic and sad, and totally overwhelming to see it (I can't even begin to fathom living through it - as a lot of my friends in New York actually did), it left a deep impression on my mind and heart that the human soul is capable of overcoming so much and going on to do amazing things -whether that be in a large group of people, a society, or deep within the confines of our own minds and spirits.

I watched an interview recently with a woman who worked in the WTC, and she survived that day. She was wearing white dress pants when it happened. And she said that for a year afterwards she scrubbed those pants by hand every day - that's how she worked through what happened to her. And she had to get them clean. And she scrubbed and scrubbed a little bit every day - and at the end of her interview she held up her pants, and they were completely clean and white again. I don't think she could ever possibly know what an impact that visual statement made on me. It was incredibly inspiring to me in the face of my own trials.
Even out of horrible things, there can be so much good that comes forth to inspire people to be better, and stronger, and more kind. And there isn't any dark thing that can't be conquered.