Ten years ago, as I was sitting at work glued to a television with my two coworkers, the world changed.

Irrevocably.

In the days that followed, I was in the midst of many conversations about the events of that day, but one of them stuck out in my mind more than any of the others.

I was emailing back and forth with a close friend in the states, and was attempting to express the level of pain and loss that I was feeling. I recall her reply as if I was just reading her email now for the first time…

“I don’t know what you’re so upset about. You’re Canadian. They attacked us, not you.”

In retrospect, this single statement was the beginning of the end of our friendship. That sentiment, in it’s simplicity, expressed a selfish short-sightedness that – unfortunately – I wasn’t all that surprised to hear from her. Over the next few weeks, our friendship dwindled to non-existent.

The attacks on September 11th occurred in the United States, but the effects, the pain, the confusion… those things did not have borders. As we all sat watching the events unfold that day, we were not citizens of our countries, we were citizens of our planet.

In the weeks that followed, I sent my Canadian prayers around the world.
I watched as the world prayed for… the world.

In the decade that has followed 9-11, there have been changes in the way the planet sees.

Our collective eyes have been opened to the fact that we are not bound by borders; we never have been. What hurts one of us, hurts the rest of us. When we cry, we do not cry alone. What makes one of us stronger, serves to make the planet stronger. And when we – as a global community – help each other heal, we are powerful medicine.

I have kept my eyes open.

I hope that we all have.

Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I may not remember.Involve me and I’ll understand.
— Native American Proverb