It's a New Day…

Day 249 Question 249:

Is privacy really a right or just a privilege?

As I am sure many of you already know there has been great scandal amongst the royal family.  First, Prince Harry getting busted with his drawers nowhere to be found while playing a rowdy game of strip poker in Vegas and now Princess Kate Middleton being photographed topless during a vacation with her husband.  Apparently the royal family enjoys the naked life.  ;0)  The question that has been splattered all throughout the headlines is whether or not privacy was breeched.  Of, course because of their royal status this question is now more important than if these were just average, everyday folks.  But, when you think about it, we hear the expression “the right to privacy” but does that “right” really even exist anymore?  Did it ever exist?

Regardless of a person’s status (whether they are royals, celebrities or working class individuals)…people are still just people.  When I first heard of both of these royal scandals and the reactions of the queen and all of her pee-ons, I laughed.  This is 2012, these people are royalty and paparazzi are swarming around every corner or hiding behind every bush.  These people should not be surprised that their lives are splattered on the cover of every magazine on a weekly basis.  I am not saying it is right, I am saying that it should not come as a surprise.  I believe big brother is watching all of us and our privacy is almost non-existent anymore but if you are a royal or a celebrity of any form, you will be under the microscope every day of your life.  It is no surprise that some of these celebs snap and end up in a psych ward or in rehab for a drinking/drug problem.  Privacy is an idea of the past.  Instead of displaying the good of people, we are looking for nothing but scandal….scandal has become our entertainment.  Is this a tactic to make us feel better about ourselves?  When is enough enough?

This past year there was a lot of uproar regarding employers having access to employees social media sites passwords.  Even the thought of this being an option confirmed my belief that privacy no longer exists.  I am the type of person that tries like hell to live in the moment and enjoy the here and now and I will admit that my past is less than desirable at certain times.  I find is so ridiculous that I am a well-educated, well-spoken, passionate and dedicated woman but I could be turned down for a job based on one simple thing I put on Facebook or Myspace several years ago?  I can’t wrap my brain around why anyone would believe an employer should have access to anyone’s personal passwords, whether it be to email, social networks or any kind of accounts.  Can we have nothing to call our own anymore?  If you think about it…if we type our own name into any search engine, there is a pretty good chance that we will be able to dig up some sort of information about ourselves and an even better chance that some of that information will be personal….information that should remain PRIVATE!!!  Why does our personal information have to be well known?  Is it for monetary gain?  For power? For control?

I don’t blame only the government for privacy breeches.  The entire human population is just as guilty…myself included.   Society has become a rumor mill and sharing private information has become commonplace.  I guess with the way that society has evolved I am unsure as to what information should be considered private.  I mean hell, the choice a woman makes with her body whether it is going on/being on birth control or pregnancy or anything of the like is no longer a private matter…it has become a large societal issue.  There are many things that people do that I don’t like or agree with but I feel that if it doesn’t personally affect me than I just need to shut my mouth…..well I say that but sometimes I go on rants….written not vocal.

I feel like the past few entries have been somewhat negative.  I am not a negative person…I just have to address what is going on in the world.  I feel the need to express myself and I do not force anyone to read what I write or agree with what I say…I just feel the need to get it out of me.  I think because we are creeping up on an election, I am really starting to see the world for what it truly is.  Up until just recently (within  the last couple of years), I meandered around with blind eyes.  I lived naïve to what was going on all around me…possibly what some people would call blissfully ignorant, but there was no bliss for me.  I see the world being beautiful and I do not take that for granted but I also feel the need to address the skeptical and the deceptive parts.  Big government, rulers and dictators have stolen our freedoms just for the simple need and want of power and control.  Maybe not all are like that but unfortunately I believe that many are and over time the people have stopped fighting for their rights and allowed it to happen.  I know that last statement may bring anger and I hope it does not.  Fighting (peacefully) for what you believe in never ends and it can be quite exhausting and draining both mentally and physically.  I understand why people sometimes give up on the fight….they feel completely defeated.  I have worked in nonprofit for several years and it is one field in which you constantly feel defeated and I have wanted to give up over and over again.  I have taken breaks and moved my focus around but undoubtedly I always come back to the same place of fighting for what I believe in….and freedom of the people is always on the top of the list…whether it comes to freedom of speech, women’s rights or marriage equality.  I will let my voice be heard when the subject is important enough to talk about.

Day 248 Question 248:

What are your thoughts on freedom of speech?  Does it really exist?

Freedom of speech in the United States is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and by many state constitutions and state and federal laws. The freedom is not absolute; the Supreme Court of the United States has recognized several categories of speech that are excluded from the freedom of speech, and it has recognized that governments may enact reasonable time, place, or manner restrictions on speech.

I found this explanation of freedom of speech online and after reading it I chuckled to myself.  We call this “freedom of speech” a right of all people but the government can put restrictions on certain expressions or speech.  Is it just me or does this seem contradictory?  Why use the word freedom when there are restrictions….when someone else is choosing what we can say or how we can express ourselves.  It is sad to see the way our world is evolving and how little we are able to say and express before we are criticized or called immoral or politically incorrect.

I know I have conquered this topic before but I decided to revisit it because I recently purchased the book No Easy Day by Mark Owen.  I have seen several news stories about how this man has crossed the lines of privacy and has leaked confidential information.  Many people have given me flack for even purchasing the book because of this because they believe I am funding someone that has done an injustice.  First and foremost, I bought the book out of curiosity and secondly I believe wholeheartedly that he should be free to express himself.  He states right in the very beginning that this book is not one to give away secrets and he has changed names to protect people.  He says, “Although I am writing this book in an effort to accurately describe real-world events as they occurred, it is important to me that no classified information is released.  With the assistance of my publisher, I hired a former Special Operations attorney to review the manuscript to ensure that it was free form mention of forbidden topics and that it cannot be used by sophisticated enemies as a source of sensitive information to compromise or harm the United States.”  This man did not take part in 13 consecutive deployments risking his life day in and day out to turn around and say Fuck You to the United States.  He is practicing his freedom of speech and sadly everyone has criticized him for this because they believe he has deceived everyone.  My question is, why do we call it freedom of speech when there are limitations?  I have read books about women being thrown into the most brutal prisons of Iran and those books are published without the blink of an eye.  At this point in life, the content is not going to matter because the United States already has enemies and there will always be fuel to add to the fire.  Many people say that there are just some things that the people do not need to know (i.e. everything that goes on in the government).  Why is that?  To protect us?  To make us naïve?  This is our country…we should have to face the bad just as much as the good and I am getting really tired of everyone else making my decisions for me.  Our government has become so disgustingly large and controlling and I don’t know if we could ever turn that around.  As citizens of this country we are constantly walking on eggshells making sure we don’t say the wrong thing or offend someone.

I know I am just one of those hippie kids born way after my time.  I believe in peace and love and see violence to serve no purpose.  I am what many would call a dreamer and completely unrealistic.  Maybe I am to some but I love the way I think because it is not ugly…it is not deceptive and it is not untrue.  For a long time I had wanted to work in the education field.  I bounced back and forth between being an elementary teacher or a guidance counselor.  I have no desire anymore to work in a setting in which the government controls my every move.  I do not want to work somewhere that I have to constantly watch what I say or do because some parent is going to get offended.  I don’t want to work somewhere that I cannot put my hand on a child’s shoulder to show affection and tell them I am proud of them because it is going to be misconstrued as a sexual advancement.  I don’t want to work somewhere that will side with the parent that is blaming me for their child’s behavior problems.  There is too much red tape and we have become a nation so focused on being “politically correct” that people do not even know what to say anymore.  A few years back I was working for a nonprofit that focused on the importance of early childhood education.  I had a group parent meeting at one of the local childcare centers.  The center that I was visiting was made of up predominately black children.  At one point I was discussing different parenting methods and behind me the children were climbing on furniture and having a good time.  I said something to effect of, “look at the little monkeys”.  I thought nothing of it but was scolded afterwards and told that what I said was an inappropriate racial slur.  My comment did not come from a place of racism whatsoever.  Monkeys like the climb on things and that was all that I was referring to.  I was absolutely floored that I was in trouble for making an “inappropriate racial slur” when my intentions had absolutely nothing to do with race.  From that day on I started watching my environments and watched how people communicated to see how much they were holding back in order not to say or do the wrong thing.  We have become robots that are meant to follow certain guidelines.  I found it so ridiculous that I could no longer use the word monkey (a jungle animal) around black people because there was a chance that I could offend someone.  At that point I wanted to turn my two middle fingers up in the air and tell people how it is more offense to take someone’s freedom of speech away because of that kind of ignorance.  I am not a hateful or spiteful person and I would never throw racial slurs out EVER…for any reason.  I don’t control the slang that has been evolutionized so I do not believe I should be punished for saying something (with no ill intentions) that could potentially offend some Sensitive Sally or Stanley.  I don’t mean to be so ugly but it makes me so mad to think about how ridiculous censorship and being “politically correct” has become.  There is a big difference between being respectful and being “politically correct” and I find the first to be of greater importance.

Day 247 Question 247:

Do you believe in past lives and an afterlife?

Do you ever spend time thinking about life outside of this one that we know?  I think about stuff like that all of the time.  I think about where my journey in this life has taken me and I do believe that there was a life I lived before that plays such a large part in this life.  I used to joke around and say that I was being punished in this life for all of the bad things I did in my past life.  I don’t truly believe that though.  I sometimes build these stories in my head and I know no truth of them but I sometimes wonder.  I wonder if in my past life if I had a great love….a love so intense and passionate that it put all other things to shame.  I wonder if that is why my love life in this life is nonexistent and just fizzles out before it even begins.  I am not complaining about this, I just sometimes wonder about a life before this how it affects my life now.  Life is this great cycle so far outside of our spectrum….so far outside of our understanding and perception.  I believe life is eternal and a continual cycle and we are supposed to live all of these separate lives in order to see the world through different eyes.  I sometimes wonder if my dreams that come to me at night are part of a life that I have no recollection of….at least no recollection when I am conscious.

When it comes to questions like these I do not have scientific answers or answers based on teachings of the Bible or any teachings of spiritual leaders.  My answers come from within because through all of the things that I question, I choose to believe that there is always a before and after.  I am unable to believe that this life is all that there is.  There is far too much in the world and in human nature to learn to only be given a small number of years to experience what we like to call life.  I think our feelings and thoughts are almost instinctual.  Yes, I do believe we are swayed to believe certain things that are taught to us but I believe there is something that draws us to believe what we do and to be who we are.  I am like no one else in my family.  I am liberal and independent and one to push the envelope while everyone else falls more on the conservative side.  I witnessed a conservative life for as long as I can remember but it never felt natural to me.  I sometimes find that odd.  These are the times I question what and how I was before I became a part of this life….before I was conceived.

If one is to believe in a previous life than I believe it is instinctual to believe in an afterlife as well.  I don’t know who or what determines these two lives outside of this one that we currently know…maybe there is a higher power.  I don’t see angels and clouds and pearly gates in an afterlife.  I see a new life forming…a new life far outside of the life we just lived.  This life could be significantly better or tragically worse….that is something I am completely unsure of.  I am kind of babbling because putting what I feel into words is not always easy.  I sometimes think there are no words to explain the surges of feelings and emotions that sometimes travel throughout me.   I believe in a previous and an afterlife because it seems like a natural cycle of life.  I am unsure why our lives have time limits and if these previous and afterlives do exist, I am unsure why we are not meant to remember any of our past lives.

Day 246 Question 246:

What is your definition of a soulmate?

When I think of a “soulmate” what comes to mind is having that ease with someone.  That way of expressing yourself in a way that allows you to empty your mind of all stress and worry and having the other person accept that.  I don’t believe soulmates have to be only between two people in a romantic relationships.  Soulmates are all of those people in your life that make it so easy for you to be your total and complete self…the people that rid you of all of your self-criticizing inner demons.  With your soulmate, those inner demons no longer even exist.  I watch people in all kinds of settings and my curiosity usually gets the best of me.  I wonder about their happiness.  For those people that know me, I wonder if they wish that I am happy.

I am a person with this beautiful soul that sometimes hides away.  I sometimes stay to myself so  that I can dig deeper into myself.  That may seem weird to some but it is these moments that I have needed to find out more about who I am and what I want.  I look at the world and the way that society evolves every single day and I see so many people marching to a beat given to them by society.  I hear the clocks going tick tock tick tock but I don’t want to listen to them.  I am sick of being on society’s time frame….it puts on far too much pressure and (in my opinion) take away from the natural progression of life.

Society has defined soulmates as two people that are MEANT to be together.  I find that definition to be silly considering that the world is made up of over seven billion people.  What are the chances that you are going to find the person you are MEANT to spend the rest of your life with?  I am not trying to be a Negative Nancy, I just think society has skewed the definition and entire idea of what soulmates really are.  I just don’t think the world soul should be thrown around so loosely.  Our soul is who we truly are….soulmates are those in our lives that we connect with far beyond a superficial level.  I believe that sometimes people confuse love with soulmates.  Both are beautiful but both are very different.

I have not been in a long-term relationship in over 5 years now.  A lot of people would think that I do not have any room to speak on this topic….I mean, what could I
possibly know.  I know who I am and I know what I feel.  In moments of loneliness I cannot cave just to have the momentary fulfillment of male company (on whatever level it is).  I know exactly what love is and what a soulmate is because the definition is mine.  A long time ago I stopped listening to what society told me and what all of the books defined those terms as.  I have grown tired of listening to people tell me what is right and wrong when I walk around in this one body day in and day out….what is right for one or for some is not necessarily right for all.  Love and soulmates are two things I could never take for granted because they are the two things that mean the most to me in this world.  I have people in my life that make me feel alive strictly by being in their presence (as silly as that may sound to some).  I was chatting with a friend online and he told me to more or less dive into the dating pool because I could easily be snagged up.  He told me I was intelligent and beautiful and a man would be lucky to have me.  I knew what he was saying and the compliment was so heart-warming but I told him that in order for me to give my heart and potentially share my soul with someone that I have to be able to show vulnerability with him the same way I am able to show vulnerability here in written words.  In this blog I am completely true to my feelings and my thoughts and although they change they are as real as they get.  I have yet to find someone (romantically speaking) that I have been able to be that vulnerable with…the walls were never able to come down.  A true soulmate knows what you are feeling with no words being needed.  A true soulmate is not just a lover but a friend and a mentor and a believer of everything that you are.  I believe we all have soulmates in our lives and some of these soulmates reach a deeper level than others.

In this past year I have dove a lot deeper into my consciousness.  I have stopped letting my ego be my puppet master and control my every thought and emotion.  I have started living naturally…allowing myself to accept my feelings and my thoughts for what they are and I have realized that the negative feelings and thoughts are my ego creeping in trying to take over.  I am not society’s idea of “perfect” or beautiful but I am undoubtedly beautiful regardless of what they say.  Soulmates are those people that can appreciate the looks on the surface but would rather swim in the depths of a person’s mind and soul.

Day 245 Question 245:

Where are you very eager to visit?

For quite some time now I have thought about what it would be like to visit Africa.  I desire going there because I believe it would force me to go far outside of my comfort zone.  I read and watch so much about African culture and I am absolutely intrigued.  I would love to visit African schools and see how different they are from American schools.  I want to experience first-hand how it is to live on so little but appreciate life so much.  Africa is this beautiful continent filled with exotic animals but also has many parts filled with anger and wars.  I would love to visit a country so different from my own and learn from the children and learn from the women.  I believe an experience like this would give me a much greater perspective on life.  :0)

Day 244 Question 244:

What inspires you?

All I can say is just watch :0)

Day 243 Question 243:

What makes you uncomfortable?

Do you ever have those days when you feel like you are searching for something but you are unsure of what it is?  You feel like you need an answer to something but you don’t exactly know what the question is?  I have those days every once in a while and sometimes it is the strangest feeling.  So, Wednesday night I worked at the restaurant and I had an experience that is definitely worth mentioning.  A man came into the restaurant around 8:00pm with his 2 daughters (I would guess them to be in their mid to late 20’s and they were both married).  This gentleman immediately asked for Happy Hour prices (even though happy hour was long over with).  My general manager (who is my best friend and happens to be gay) agreed to do happy hour drinks for him.  This man proceeded to lolligag for 20 minutes figuring out what drink he wanted.  He wanted top shelf liquor for house liquor prices.  That was not going to happen.  After finally getting his drink order straight this man proceeded to ask me if I was married or had kids and for almost an hour, every time I came to their table, he proceeded to give me lessons about the Bible and our creator and shoved his religious beliefs straight down my throat.  He said he would set it up so his daughters would come to my condo and give me Bible lessons.  I told him I worked 2 jobs and was in Grad school.  He then (in a condescending voice) asked, “Are you too busy for Jesus?”  It took everything to tell him that Jesus does not pay my bills.  This man made me feel so very uncomfortable because he crossed such a line.  He told me he was going to order a dish to bring home for his wife.  He wanted peanut sauce (that is 13.95) for the price of our fresh mixed vegetables (that is 11.95).  This man bartered the entire meal and I told him I could not do that because the peanut sauce was more expensive to make.  He sat and debated for over 15 minutes and spoke to me like I was doing him no favors over $2!!!  SERIOUSLY, $2!  At one point I went back to the kitchen and my manager knew how uncomfortable I had been so he told me that the other server would finish off the table and I was not to go on the dining room floor until this man left.  I found out after he left that his daughters paid the bill.  This man came into the restaurant bartering every little thing he could then preached the word of God and the Bible and he didn’t even pay.  Isn’t greed one of the seven deadly sins?

I understand that not all Christians are like that.  I respect everyone and their beliefs but there is nothing more that I cannot stand than to have someone’s beliefs forced upon me.  This man, during his very long speel, said that God did not like bad people…like perverts and gays.  Meanwhile, the GM of the restaurant (my best friend) is gay.  I find people that act in such a manner to be so ignorant and I cannot wrap my brain around how they feel that their behavior is acceptable.  It seems very unnatural to me to shove your opinions and beliefs onto someone.  Why would you try to make someone be a clone of yourself?  That means this world would have no diversity and isn’t the diversity what makes it beautiful?

Day 242 Question 242:

What makes you laugh?

Today is a nonstop day of packing, painting furniture and looking at places so I am going to leave this entry here to hopefully bring you many smiles for this lovely Thursday.  I have a great subject for the weekend….a good story from my work adventures last night.  For now toodles to you all :0)

Day 241 Question 241:

What are your thoughts on plastic surgery?

Plastic surgery has blown up over the past decade or so.  Every time you turn around you hear news of someone getting their boobs done or getting their lips done.  My intentions here are not to bash plastic surgery.  People do what they do for their own reasons.  I do not love my body.  I have saddle bags on the outside of my thighs and cellulite and stretch marks that make me very angry.  My breasts aren’t perfect and perky and my teeth aren’t gleaming white and straight.  All of these things are part of my character though.  If I happened to be rich I might consider getting some fat sucked out of my thighs but I also wonder if it would even be worth it.  My body shows the journey of my life and by altering it I am only telling myself that I am not good enough.  Well, what is good enough?

I speak only for me and my words here are strictly my opinion.  My sister (she may kill me if she reads this) is not endowed in the chest area.  She has been an A cup (maybe slightly pushing into a B) her entire life.  She has never spoke of wanting implants but I do know that it has been something she has been insecure about.  Breasts are such a feminine part of a woman…they make us feel feminine and sexy.  My sister would look ridiculous with big D cup implants but I could understand her point of view if she ever wanted to get maybe a small C-cup just to give her a little bit more up top.  What I love about my sister though is that she knows that she knows that is not what she needs.  She has a loving husband that loves the way she has looked throughout the 20 years they have been married and even if he didn’t, she would never change her body to please him.  She would only ever do it for herself.

I believe that some women go through these plastic surgery fads without thinking about what they themselves truly want.  Society has become this media circus that is making women (and even very young girls) believe that you are only beautiful if you have a “perfect” body or “perfect” features on your face.  The media makes us women believe that in order to snag us a boyfriend or husband that we must look a certain way because that is what ALL men are attracted to.  The media (in my opinion) has completely destroyed the female image and the truth of what real beauty is.  For those that believe in God, do you not believe that he designed you a specific way and you are going against him by slicing and dicing your body to look like something or someone else?  I am unsure of what my beliefs are but I do believe we are meant to look as we do without all kinds of restructuring and changing.  True beauty (as cheesy and cliché as it may sound) is so much more internal than external.  If women choose to get plastic surgery I believe that is their choice and I would treat anyone and everyone with respect.  Everyone has their reasons for doing what they do and sometimes health issues might involve physical changes in the body.  I just hope that women think about what they are doing prior to doing it and really evaluate why they are choosing to do it.  If the choice is to bring them happiness and they are doing it strictly for themselves then more power to them but unfortunately many women (and men) alter their bodies to please others or to obtain what they believe is success.

Yesterday was the 11^th Anniversary of falling of the Twin Towers.  Every news station with the exception of NBC chose to do a moment of silence at the times that both towers fell.  Instead of taking a moment of silence to remember those that lost their lives far too early, NBC chose to speak to reality star, Kris Jenner about her new boob job.  Seriously????  It is no wonder that young girls have such a warped view of what beauty is and start developing self-esteem issues at such a young age.  Too much of the media is dedicating their time and money to showing women altering their bodies and aching to be thin and “perfect”.  Every single person on this planet is beautiful in their own way…because they are one of a kind.  I do not look in the mirror and love the way I look but as I have grown older I have accepted it because it is the natural way of life.  My body reflects my choices in life and I am constantly making improvements.  I will always have stretch marks and flab in places I wish that I didn’t but what is important is the dedication I have had toward living a much healthier lifestyle.  Once I started accepting my body and my looks for what they were and realized that I am so much more than my external self, my mental health improved so drastically.  Our individuals lives are not meant to be altered to meet the needs of others but instead to meet our own needs in hopes to bring continual happiness.  I listen to people all of the time complain about their bodies or the way that they look (and I have been one of those people) and it sometimes makes me sad because they are unable to see the beauty that I see.  Beauty has been molded to be certain looks designated by the media but that is not true beauty at all.  True beauty is being able to show compassion and being empathetic with ease.  True beauty is being kind to others and having it come easily and naturally.  Looks will always fade.

I respect people for their choices and I do not live their lives to understand what they are feeling.  Like I said at the beginning, this entry is not meant to bash ANYONE for choosing to have plastic surgery.  Choosing to have plastic surgery is a personal choice.  I was just reflecting on my personal feelings about the subject.  I believe all people are beautiful (yes ALL).  I hope in my heart that more people (especially women) will grow to love themselves and see that their beauty has nothing to do with what is on the outside.

Day 240 Question 240:

What were you doing on this date in 2001 when you found out about the collapse of the Twin Towers and the tragedy at the Pentagon?

My life has been so hectic as of lately that until just yesterday I did not even realize that this day had approached so quickly.  It feels like just yesterday that we were remembering the 10^th anniversary of this great tragedy.  The whole incident seems so surreal.  I know it happened but it just seems so impossible.  It seems unreal that so many innocent lives were lost in just a blink of an eye.  Just thinking about this day makes my eyes misty and gives me a sinking feeling in my chest.  At the time of this horrible event I was living in northern NY with a roommate.  At that time in my life I was pretty lost and I spent too much time drinking and in the bars.  I didn’t have direction in my life because I was young and just pretty clueless.  I slept through the morning and my roommate knocked on my door a little after 10 and told me I should come out and see what is on TV.  I dragged myself up not expecting to see what I did.  On every television station there were images of the twin towers collapsing and people in the streets running for safety.  It was mass chaos.  I immediately thought that it couldn’t have been real.  For hours we both just sat on the edge of our seats watching the news reports and watching the death toll rise.  It completely broke my heart knowing that so many innocent lives were lost that day….the innocent lives of not only adults but also of young children.  To this very day I still don’t understand why any of it happened.  I don’t understand why violence has become the answer for so many in our world.  I take great pride in my country and I feel lucky to live in a country that does not have the wars that other countries have and I have the freedoms to live as a woman without fearing my safety.  This event was so very horrific and tragic but inside of me I still believe that an eye for an eye is not the answer.  We will never resolve violence with violence.  I detest that people from my country that I take pride in had to lose their lives or lose their loved ones but I also hate that in so many other parts of the world both men and women are tortured, raped and murdered and this is a normal everyday occurrence.  This day reminds me of how divided our world is but it also reminds me how strong this country is.  On this day, the people of the United States stopped seeing all of the differences and came together to help however and wherever they could.  The people stopped and told each other they loved each other and realized how precious their lives were.

Where I lived in NY was about 8 hours from NYC and I remember that classes were cancelled for the remainder of the week.  I remember trying to call my parents (they had moved down to South Carolina) and the phone lines were completed jammed for hours upon hours.  Everyone was trying to call their loved ones and trying to find those that they knew had been in the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.  I had friends that lived right over the bridge in Connecticut and they said that the smell of death just lingered in the air for days.  I can’t imagine being so close to any of it.  My heart sinks just thinking about it but I am unable to fathom what it must feel like for people that lost family members and friends or to be wandering the streets of NYC and witness the falling of the Twin Towers and then mass chaos breaking out.  The image above is one of my favorite images to remember 9/11 because it shows so much love….it shows a father’s love for a son and the sadness he feels for losing him too early.  The whole incident was completely unfair…people should not have to experience this kind of pain.  People should not have to bury their loved ones because of others hatred.  The picture above is beautiful because it depicts so much love but it is also one of the saddest pictures I have ever seen because you know that a part of this man is now missing.

I have watched several documentaries about 9/11…..about different people and about different situations and theories.  I watched a documentary called The Saint of 9/11 about a priest that also was a volunteer firefighter.  This priest was not young like many of the volunteer firefighters at the time of his death (I believe he was in his late 50’s or 60’s).  This man had to be one of the most noble, selfless people I have ever come to learn about.  He lost his life on 9/11 while trying to save the lives of the innocent in the towers.  He lost his life doing what he was meant to do…helping others.  If you ever get a chance to check out this documentary I highly recommend it.  Yes, the events of 9/11 were extremely sad but this film brings you to a place where you learn and remember the importance of human kindness and selflessness.

On this day I ask all of you to remember love over anything.  We should do this every day but sometimes with the craziness of life we forget.  We as people (not just of this country but of the world) need to strive to come together instead of driving each other further apart.  Tragedies like this need to lessen over time, not become the norm of the world.  So remember what is really important to you and remember who is important to you and take the time to tell them you love them.  It may be cliché to say but it is so true: Tomorrow is promised to no one.