Today, on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I’m drawn to the Jedi value of letting go of our attachments. Though, you may be surprised by how this piece turns out, so I encourage you to read on.
We constantly hear “Never Forget” with regards to this memorial. 20 years after the event, however, we’re still asking people to relive the horrors of that day. 20 years after the event, we have a new horrific reminder of the kind of people that orchestrated the attacks in the form of what is going on in Afghanistan for about the last month and still going on now.
There are some attachments that we don’t need to let go of. Like the attachment to loving life, or even an attachment to a child. As long as you’re not over-doing things, and maintain your boundaries, attachments can be healthy. Even in the fiction, the Jedi have an attachment to their code and their mission to protect civilization as guardians of peace- and oftentimes had attachments to their apprentices and masters. It’s when they took these things to far and forgot their loyalty to the code that the attachment became a problem.
But there are other attachments that we should overcome. Attachment to trauma is the one that I’m reminded of today. The trauma of 9/11 has spurred so many prejudices and damaging thoughts, that it’s 20 years later I am able to really appreciate the idea that honoring the dead on at a specified time not (usually) the anniversary of the deceased’s death. In Japan it’s Obon, for Mexico it’s the Day of the Dead, for others it’s Samhain, and I’m sure there are many more traditions around the world I’m unaware of.
I’m not sure if our ancestors really put so much thought into the psychological implications of recounting the deaths of people on the anniversary of their death. It may well be that it made it much more simple to have a collective time to honor the dead so that the community could support one another during that time. It might be that it was too difficult to remember the exact days that such events happened because the calendars were not marked so easily by the common man.
Today, we can add to our own knowledge and put thought into the psychological consequences of remembering a day that really transformed our lives as a connected world in the modern age. For some of you, the sting has worn off. For others, it still lingers. For some, the events in Afghanistan are opening entirely new wounds and it all stemmed from this day 20 years ago. I’m not asking anyone to forget, but perhaps it’s time to let it go culturally. Focus on the here and now, what we can do for the future given what we know of at this moment- and honor those lost on a day that doesn’t remind us of the trauma they went through.
Why a different day? Wouldn’t it be just as easy to recall their trauma? That’s the genius of holidays like Obon, Day of the Dead, Samhain and Pchum Ben (Cambodia’s festival)- they honor the person’s life, not their death. The festivities are there to recall our love for those who have passed on, not how they died. Focus determines our reality, when you focus on the circumstances of death you create internal chaos, but the eulogy of their life brings peace, serenity and harmony- reminding us that while there is death, there is also the Force.