September 11th

The strongest emotions we have as people are hate and love.  Both, if we open ourselves to them fully, will change us and the world around us.  Of the two, I believe love is the stronger, although it might not make nearly as much noise as hate and it certainly won't get as many headlines.  Today in New York is as beautiful a day as it was twelve years ago.  I'm in my garden.  I love working with flowers.  I've come to believe that beauty is in this world to remind us of the good.  I pull down a high branch with huge pink blossoms and look at the bright center of these flowers, the petals still sturdy in September.  I think about the September eleventh of twelve years ago.  I can't capsulize the time, that would trivialize it, but if one theme has stayed with me all these years it's about being  a peacemaker.  Not someone who just loves peace — we all love the absence of conflict — but someone who rolls up their sleeves and says I'm going to get in there and try to make a difference.  Sometimes hope feels a bit out of reach, we have to pull it down and look at it closely.  Today, may we do that.  Pull it down, look at it square and work with all our hearts for a better, more beautiful world.