This morning I woke up to NPR talking about the anniversary of 9/11.  I couldn’t turn the radio off fast enough. Then, opened up the front page of the paper to see the President and Mrs. Bush under a banner of 9/11—couldn’t turn the page fast enough.  While I was having these reactions there was a still small voice inside of me, asking me, what I was feeling? What were my responses to the radio and the newspaper telling me? It was this. I have been feeling manipulated by the media from all sides and sources to feel a certain way about a lot of things and most especially about 9/11.  I don’t want to be pushed into “forced grief” nor do I want to have to battle the beliefs inside of my heart regarding everything that may or may not have taken place on that day.  What I do feel today is contemplative and quiet.  I want to be still.  I want to listen to the quiet.  I know that one thing that I can always do when I feel one way and “everyone” else seems to feel another is to send out love.  That is that I can replace any thoughts, opinions, judgments, and fears with the thought of love. For me it feels like a warm calmness within. That’s what I “send out” to all things today.  It is so easy for me/us to get distracted by outside influences in this movie we choose to call our life.  Whatever occurred on 9/11 here in the U.S., it was big, there was a loss of life and today my “being” is feeling quiet about it.  Three very special Life Coaches and I are studying the book, “The Wisdom of No Escape” by Pema Chodron.  In the chapter, “Taking a Bigger Perspective” she talks about the circle as being a powerful symbol for the sacredness of all things.  Throughout many traditions, there are rituals in which the image of the circle is used like this:  by drawing a circle around yourself and standing in the middle of it, you realize that you are always at the center of the universe.  The circle that surrounds you shows you that you’re always in a sacred space. 

 Draw an imaginary circle around yourself today so that you can be who you are today within your sacred circle. All is well. All is okay.  You are loved.