Many Voices Share Reflections On Hope Since 9/11
By Adrienne Smith, CBS Local Media
The incidents of Sept. 11, 2001, continue to echo in a multitude of feelings, voices and stories. Collectively as New Yorkers, Americans and citizens of the world, people experienced overwhelming emotions that day.
Many of those once faltering in shock or grief can now express thoughts of forgiveness, redemption and restoration. Where have we come in the 10 years since?
The following stories share outlooks on life since 2001 and hopes toward the future.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach
"We should all be enriched by differences, but it is kind of ironic that this knowledge dividend came about by entirely the wrong means."
The renown author on spirituality and culture looks on Americans' security, freedoms and common ties in the post-9/11 world.
Reverend Susan Turchin
"9/11 has brought us to a much higher consciousness of what it means to be a citizen of the world."
Following the attacks of 9/11, this New Yorker sought to offer friendship and support to a key group in her neighborhood: the local mosque.
Sister Camille D'Arienzo
"President Abraham Lincoln left advice worth considering today. He said the best way to destroy our enemies is to befriend them."
A former president for the Leadership Conference of Women Religious shares her experiences serving in New York and her concerns about the future of forgiveness after 9/11.
Reverend Diane Berke
"As members of a human family we have to find ways of learning to understand each other and somehow reconnect with the love in our hearts, which is not easy to do."
An interfaith leader in New York views the day terrorists attacked America as a "catalyst for very deep and fundamental change" about viewing post-9/11 world.
Swami Ramananda
"9/11 showed us that when we need to, we can drop the emphasis on our superficial differences and come together and work together. There's a beauty in that."
The president of the Integral Yoga Institute in New York City sees a oneness within all despite the difference the horror of 9/11 tried to emphasize.
Father Joseph Costantino
"Hope, of all of the virtues, is probably the one that most God admires."
The pastor of the Church of St. Francis Xavier in New York talks about the challenge faced by those whose lives were devastated by the tragedy of 9/11.
Reverend Jane Galloway
"I think we have a bigger conversation to have about what unites us at the level of spirit so that we can be living in a world where we have great diversity and appreciation for that diversity."
An advocate of the transcendentalist New Thought movement seeks a holistic understanding of her New York community in the post-9/11 world.
Sheikha Fariha
"Every sacred tradition belongs to every human being and they have the right to that wisdom and to the beauty that lies within it."
A guide to the sufi order at lower Manhattan's Dergah al-Farah Mosque shares her experiences and her faith living in the aftermath of 9/11.
Zen Buddhist Judy Seicho Fleischman
"Ask yourself: Right now, what is important? In this moment, what really helps me to touch peace?"
An instructor at New York's Village Zendo views 9/11 in the context of distilling focus to what is of core importance.
