Remembering Forward

This morning when I was walking on the treadmill I looked down at the crowded craft shelves facing me and saw this. How fitting, I thought. But then I started wondering, "What then?" Do I just remember every year, feel sad and then move on? There has to be more.

I've been thinking about that a lot, especially this week as I've been watching what seems like hour after hour of footage from 9/11. It's the same thing I did 10 years ago. And afterward I end up feeling the same--scared, helpless, overwhelmed with grief. But what good does that do?

Earlier this year, I interviewed Krista Tippett from public radio's show "On Being" about the 10th anniversary of 9/11 for St. Anthony Messenger's special issue for the anniversary. During out interview I was struck by something very profound she said. She spoke of the concept of remembering forward, and quoted the White Queen from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass: “It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.”

She used the phrase "remembering forward" and said for her in terms of 9/11 that phrase means “remembering for the sake of remembering. What we long for especially with an event like 9/11 is to think about how it changed us, and how we want to move into the future differently because of it.”

I was blown away by how profound that was, and I've spent a lot of time thinking about that concept in my own life as well.

I have MS. There is no changing that. I will never be the same person I used to be. No matter how much I hope for it, pray for it, want it--it won't be. I can get as mad as I want. I can rant and rave--and believe me I do--but that won't heal me. It won't change the past. No, my challenge is to figure out how to move forward, honoring and remembering what was and embracing and navigating what is and will be.

I think today that's a challenge for all of us.