People who were in and around New York on September 11, 2001–and I’m sure it happened in Washington, DC, as well–remember the spirit of compassion and kindness and care that came about in their bewilderment, their wonderment, and fear. Seldom does the phrase, “We’re a family” feel authentic when used about organizations or companies or almost any group other than a family. But many people seemed to feel, in the weeks after the disaster, a link with others–even, and perhaps especially with complete strangers–that might well be described as a family sort of feeling.
Aldous Huxley remarks in The Perennial Philosophy that a saint is one who knows that every moment of our life is a moment of crisis. A very spiritually evolved person “is able to be aware continuously of the divine Ground of their own and all other beings. . .and to meet all, even the most trivial circumstances of daily living, without malice, greed, self-assertion or voluntary ignorance, but consistently with love and understanding.”
In the crisis of that September, some taste of this attitude towards life and other people was present. To think that the outer reaches of both the worst & the best of human potential can exist in such proximity–and that the best sits waiting, available.
PsycheBites 
Hi Daniel,
I think that you have proposed a sane alternative to the constant, morbid memorials, which reflect upon the tragedy, loss, fear, and hate generated by 9-11 that have misdirected the goals and cloaked this country in mourning; and, in my opinion, have impeded the survivors of it from moving forward. In imbuing the remembrance of that day as an opportunity to continue to reap the positive response from it resonates with me and, as you know, what I wrote afterward too. I think that that approach would do much to heal wounds, not just of what happened ten years ago, but all manner of injuries, and promote understanding, humanity, and even the almost impossible hope of peace in our lifetimes. Nice piece, I hope that a lot of people read it. Perhaps you should send it to a broader audience, not to say that your blog is not widely read.