My summer travels brought me to a very special place, to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. The Memorial commemorates the almost 3000 people killed on the September 11, 2001 terror attacks at the World Trade Center, at the location near Shanksville, PA , and at the Pentagon; and the 6 people killed in the World Trade Center bombing of 1993.
The memorial features twin reflecting pools, each with a waterfall in the middle that appears to go on forever. The massive pools, each measuring approximately one acre, sit where the Twin towers used to be. The names of all the victims are inscribed into bronze panels surrounding the pools. The victims’ names are very specifically organized by location of attack, by company or crew they worked with, or by first responders. There are even computer screens that allow you to type a name and find its location in the Memorial.
I grew up in New York City and experienced the construction of the Twin Towers. My father even has 8mm film footage showing the World Trade Center in the making. As for many fellow New Yorkers, this attack was extremely painful. Not only had we lost the Twin Towers, a favorite New York City landmark, we had lost thousands of innocent people in this attack. I had visited the World Trade Center site several years after the attack, and the new buildings and the Memorial were still under construction. Walking around the site then was still extremely emotional. In August I had the opportunity to visit the completed Memorial and I felt it was beautifully done. The emotions were still there. I walked up to the pools and gently passed my hands over the many names of the victims in hopes of paying tribute. It was hard to keep the tears back. As I walked around the Memorial I noticed that some of the names had white roses. A white rose is placed on the victims’ names on their birthdays. This whole area felt like sacred ground to me.
If you are in New York City don’t miss the opportunity to visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. The Museum was not opened yet when I visited but it is nearing completion. The 110,000 square feet museum is built over the World Trade Center archaeological site where you can see some of the original architecture of the Twin Towers. For more information on the 9/11 Memorial and Museum go to:
The 9/11 Memorial uses water as part of its beautiful design. To me water symbolizes “cleansing”, starting anew, but knowing the lessons of the past.
I also share the following excerpt from The Healers Journal Blog.
Water carries all life. But water is beyond time, for it bears in its flow the seeds of future life, as well as the memory of past life. Water mediates between life and death, between being and not being, between health and sickness. – From: http://www.thehealersjournal.com/2013/05/24/the-hidden-metaphysical-properties-of-water/#sthash.fVicxoqO.dpuf
Navigating the Labyrinth of Life 