Saturday, September 11, 2004

Remember

This morning I happened to catch the last 10 minutes of Through a Child's Eyes: September 11th, 2001 on HBO.

The program featured young children of various backgrounds, races and religions, some of whom had lost a parent on 9/11, and many of them (in the few minutes I saw) spoke of their fears.

Watching the show, I was overcome with how unspeakably beautiful and fragile these children wre. Their simple, unaffected wisdom sometimes surprised and always encouraged.

A young black girl told us what to do when we're scared. "Relax," she advised, then "breathe in, breathe out." And a tiny Indian girl said, "When you're afraid, think of butterflies, rainbows, anything."

Most poignant, a young girl who compared the lump of her grief for her father to a piece of clay, which could be flattened over time, so that it would appear smaller, but it would always be there.

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