When something happens to shake our culture—like the terrorist attacks—we pause, not merely from fear. A deeper self-examination is going on all over the country. And love, family and faith are emerging.
Single people are flocking to dating services, looking for committed relationships. Bridal retailers report a surge in sales. Sales of old-fashioned board s have skyrocketed.
The new appreciation for time spent with those we love poses a great spiritual question to materialistic yuppies and workaholic careerists, and that question is this: "Was your life before September 11 really working for you" To many, the answer is no.
We once heard of a CEO who spoke at his retirement dinner to a group of your executives. He said, "I know you want my job, and I’ll tell you how to get it. Last week my daughter was married, and as she walked down the aisle, I realized I did not know the name of her best friend, or the last book she read, or her favorite color. That’s the price I paid for this job. If you want to pay that price, you can have it."
People are figuring out the price they have been paying for their lives, arid for many it’s just too
We asked kids during December to name the very best gift they could receive. Their answer took our breath away. The overwhelming choice was "More time with my mom and dad."
Evil is always angry and hurtful. It always delights in the misery of others. This is the evil of terrorism. September 11 did not teach us anything new about evil.
What did become apparent is the stunning variety and scope of human goodness. Pick any story: the elderly woman who donated the money she had planned to spend on a hearing aid; the sacrifice of Father Mychal Judge, who died after giving last rites in the shower of dust and hones; the volunteers from everywhere who responded to the needs of strangers as if the call came from home. In thousands of stories we learn that the great human evil we witnessed was met by a wave of heroism and kindness that dwarfed it.
Such goodness puts evil Into perspective. We see how the healing power of human compassion far out- weighs the corrosive power of human evil. In the final summing up, it is the good in us that defines this moment in our co1lective history.
There is a lot of talk about spirituality nowadays. Often it means: "I am not part of any organized religion." We are telling people to give that old-time religion another good look. The clergy of our country have done a great thing for God and for America in the last months. In a thousand places of worship, they welcome and counsel and comfort the bereaved and the weary. We have to come home to faith.
There is a teaching in the Jewish faith that is also reflected in an African proverb: "Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable, but sticks alone can be broken by a child." We need to be bundled, and our bundles protect us best ff they are bigger than just our family and small circle of friends. We need a place to go that is not home or work, where we can be bundled together with other seekers in need of hope. The ways we find God are al- most always the same as the ways we find each other.
By quoting an African proverb, the author does NOT imply that people should ______.