September 13: The 9/11 Survivor, Fred

On behalf of my beautiful coworker, I accepted the gift of the knowledge of a presentation of Remembering 9/11 which featured two survivors. Both of them worked at the World Trade Center and were in the buildings on that day. Both struggled to leave the building, helping others, and made it out only minutes before they collapsed.

I absolutely admire and respect both, but why is Fred the person of the day? Let me explain the other survivor, Rahm. Rahm exhibited a calm and joyful attitude. He spoke of helping people, he spoke of the joy of assisting others, of the peace of accepting the tragedy, of attending the funerals of the 10 coworkers his office lost and of concentrating and meditating on the lost souls and passing vibrations and thoughts to the lost ones. Rahm continues to be joyful and says his positive movements forward after 9/11 may be why he has never suffered a nightmare since. Rahm is a person I admire and someone I would strive to be like.

But, for better or for worse, Fred is who I identify with. Someone who suffered survivors guilt and still questions his spirituality and what to make of the incident. I felt a connection with him and empathized from afar. I thought about him long after I had left the meditation center.