Remembering 9/11 – Seeing the sadness and the love.

As I sit here watching the memorials on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, I have a strange mixture of feelings running through me. I have feelings of deep sadness and frustration stirred by the scenes and memories of this horrific act. My heart hurts for everyone who lost someone – and for all of us because we were all affected. At the same time I am feeling hopeful and a sense of community. I am reminded that millions of people put their differences aside on that day and came together in love and support.

I was living in Manhattan on the 38^th floor of an apartment building in midtown during September 11. I was busy going about my day when the phone rang and Jan, my sister-in-law, told me that a small plane had hit one of the World Trade Center towers. I ran to my balcony, which faced the Twin Towers and saw volumes of smoke pouring out of the North Tower. I stood there frozen for what seemed to be just a couple of seconds and then a huge jet hit the second tower; I immediately thought about my daughter Nicole. We had an argument the night before and she decided to go spend the night with a girlfriend who lived in lower Manhattan near the Twin Towers. I was paralyzed with fear and worry. I could not move, I just kept staring at the towers. I was jolted awake by the collapse of the South Tower, and then the North Tower came down. It was time for me to get out of my high rise and get to the ground level.

When I got down to the street I saw thousands of people walking, just walking like me with their cell phones to their ears. The phones were not working but we kept trying to connect with our loved ones. It would be 7 hours before I connected with my daughter - thank God Nicole was safe. She had decided to go to Queens so she was off the island and I was tremendously relieved.

During those long hours I was searching for my daughter, something amazing happened. Total strangers saw the despair in my eyes and came to comfort me. They held me, they walked with me for hours, they treated me like a dear friend – we became family. Everywhere we went people were united by love and compassion – we were one.

It is easy to see the hate. 9/11 was a horrific act that was born out of hate, but I also saw and felt love. I saw people hungry to connect with one another. I experienced a deep sense of  community during this tragedy. When we perceive life through a filter of love, we discover the beauty and potential of our humanity.

In the mist of all the chaos and confusion we are living through today - I continue to see “pockets of hope”. I see a plethora of “pockets of hope” around the world where people are working together to transform their lives and uplift their communities. This movement is fueled by the proliferation of technology. Ten years ago, only a fraction of people on our planet were using the internet and smart phones were merely a vision. Today millions of people are discovering the beauty and power of connecting to people all over the world. We are learning, as we did during 9/11, that we have far more in common than we differ. Our passion to connect today is not fueled by tragedy - it is enabled by technology.

The wonderful thing is that the majority of people are not social networking around race, nationality or religion; they are coming together around ideas, common interest, and issues that matter to them. Although many believe the growing social networking phenomenon is becoming excessive, even addictive - I believe it is a symptom of our natural desire to connect. All people want to feel a sense of belonging; to express ourselves; to contribute our gifts and ideas; to learn and grow - and ultimately to love and be loved.

So as I sit here remembering, I remember the horror and sadness and I remember the profound sense of love and unity. The feeling of love and community sustains me and gives me hope - that's why I write about "pockets of hope".