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Scintillations
My Final Phone Call
Master Of My Fate
Almost Famous Photographers
Bugs
Cubicle Hell
Breaking Out Of My Cocoon
Letters To My Younger Self 
Boundaries & Walls
Surviving Today
Adventures In Chalking
Books That Changed My Life
Declare What You Are
My Most Brave Moment
Masks of Bravery  
Love And God
Moody Girl

poetry
Vocalizing
Bravery
The Imaginary "You"

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comments from our readers

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future issues
Issue Six: Friendship
Issue Seven: Trust

previous issues
Issue One: Change
Issue Two: Balance
Issue Three: Spring
Issue Four: Goddess

I have had so many thoughts and feelings since the tragic events of September 11, 2001.  I have felt everything from sadness, to rage, to fear, to denial, to inspiration, to helplessness, to hope and then back again.  I have found it difficult to know exactly what to do or how to feel. 

I have watched hours upon days of television.  I have listened to hundreds of people speak about what has happened and what needs to happen.  My email inbox continues to fill up with messages of inspiration, prayer, calls to action, and more.  I have found all of this to be quite overwhelming and confusing.

A great deal of my time and energy has been focused on talking to loved ones and friends as well as communicating with anyone and everyone I can.  I just feel like I want to reach out and touch all the people I know and love.  I even feel the need to reach out to those I do not know.

I heard about the horrific news on my car radio the morning of September 11th.  In a state of shock, my mind and heart began to race with the intensity of thoughts and emotions.  I began to frantically think of all my friends and loved ones on the east coast…were they okay?  I remembered my own trips to New York and to DC.  The power, excitement, and intrigue of these two amazing cities have always inspired me.  How could this horrible attack have taken place?  It just did not make sense. 

Within a few minutes, it began to sink in, at least on some level.  What amazed me was how in that moment, I woke up.  Instantly, I became aware of what was truly important to me, as well as the fact that so much of what I think about, worry about, and talk about seemed quite meaningless in the face of something catastrophic like this.

My day-to-day concerns about success, money, time, exercise, and my endless to-do lists all paled in comparison to the feelings that I had in that moment.  All I wanted to do was to talk to my family and friends and tell them how much I love them.  I also had the strong desire to simply connect with people in a genuine, intimate, and authentic way.

Since that day what continues to show up in my head, in my heart, and in conversations with other people, is the power of LOVE and the importance of GOD.  When it all comes down to it, this is what is truly most important to me!

In the face of this horrible tragedy, we all have an amazing opportunity to bring forth the power of Love and God...To tell the people we love how important they are to us and to connect with that deep and sacred place of our own personal spiritual journey.

It is so important that we honor our intense emotions and truly feel them...as well as letting others do the same.  Even though this may be uncomfortable, as it often is for me (especially with certain intense emotions), it is so important for us to do.  On the other side of all of our emotions is Love. 

Love is the key to the kingdom.  Love gives us access to healing, forgiveness, and peace.  Love is the basis of all of our connections to one another.  And Love is the foundation of our relationship to God/Goddess/All that is.

I believe that the essence of each of us is Love.  It is who we are and what we all want.  We each have an infinite amount of Love.  I have been so inspired and amazed by the incredible out-pouring of Love I have seen throughout our country and our world in response to this crisis.  Standing hand in hand with strangers at special services held to honor the victims of the tragedy at Glide Memorial Church and at Grace Cathedral, I wept uncontrollably from the Love I felt and at the extraordinary power of the human spirit.

In my quiet times, between the tears and hugs, the TV reports, the emails, the phone calls and the conversations, I talk to God.  Here is my prayer for the world:

Dear God:

I pray for courage and strength as we all deal with this global crisis. 

Allow me to be real and open in the face of such intense sadness and fear. 

Please bring peace and healing to all those who have been hurt, directly or indirectly, by this tragedy.

May we unite together in Love to heal each other, our world, and ourselves.

Let Peace, Forgiveness, Healing, and Love prevail.

Amen

Although my rational mind still cannot fully come to grips with or make sense of what happened in our world on September 11^th, my spiritual consciousness is speaking to me louder than it ever has before.  What I hear and what I feel is the power of LOVE and GOD.  Ultimately, it is LOVE and GOD that will guide, heal and transform us all.

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