This summer, my husband and I traveled to central Pennsylvania and decided to include a visit to the 9/11 Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville. I knew it would be an emotional day, reflecting back on all that happened on 9/11, where we were and how our lives changed, but I did not anticipate the on-going profound impact on both my personal and professional life that these 40 passengers and crew members have had.
In roughly 30 min these heros discerned what was happening, organized themselves, said goodbye to their families via cell calls, and took over the plane taking it down in a remote field saving hundreds or thousands of lives. These 40 people who did not know each other came together in an act of extreme heroism-they did not ask about socio-economic status, ethnicity, profession or political affiliation; they simply came together and in 30 min changed the course of history. I continue to be overwhelmed by what happens when we act together being the best of who we are.
They had 30 minutes…I have minutes -what will I choose to do with the blessing of time I have been given? What might I do to honor these 40 heros and the sacrifice of thousands of others on and after 9/11?
Today, as we remember, might we all think about the time we’ve been given and what we might do with that gift?