Healthy Thoughts by Dr. Helena

Love is the Answer

Posted: September 11, 2019
By: Dr. Helena

 

Art by LilyJo

In July, 2001 I had traveled to Kathmandu, Nepal for my Clinic Abroad trip with Palmer College of Chiropractic.  On the morning of 9/11/01, I woke in my apartment in Davenport, Iowa to Bob Seger’s song, “Kathmandu.”  Some of the lyrics are: “I ain’t got nothing against the east coast.  You want some people where they got the most.  And New York City’s like a friendly ghost you seem to pass right through.”

The song was interrupted by the news of the first tower being hit.  I turned on the news and picked up the phone to check on my father.  I knew he was working in NYC but I didn’t know what shift.  I was happy to hear he was home by 6am and was sleeping.  When I was a kid, Dad and I would take trips into the city.  We enjoyed going to the top of the Empire State Building in midtown, and then going downtown to go to the top of the Twin Towers.  The view from up there was absolutely incredible.

I am fortunate to have those memories. 

In December, 2001, my sister and I went into Manhattan while home for Christmas.  It happened to be the day they opened the overlook at Ground Zero.   The city has a silence to it that was unnatural.  It wasn’t a sleepy Sunday morning.  Rather it was a gut-wrenching time of mourning.  People were still missing and unaccounted for.  We slowly walked past burning candles and pictures of loved ones.  I don’t know what I was expecting really or why I was even on that line.  Looking at the destruction, the size of the hole was too much to handle.  The broken windows of the surrounding buildings and American Flag hanging nearby caused me to start shaking and sobbing.  There was a camera crew pulling people aside asking them their thoughts.  I put my hood over my head, turned and walked away.

My sister and I didn’t talk for a long time.  I just cried while I walked.  I was trying to hard to stifle sobs but strange sounds kept coming out of me as we walked.  It is 2019 and I still have the same response when I try to watch the 9/11 videos.

People are harmed around the world every day.  People are killing each other here in the states.  I think everyone should go to the 9/11 Memorial in NYC as well as the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, Detroit or Germany.  It is important to never forget.  People continue to hate each other for political, cultural, religious and philosophical differences.  There is a great big hole in this country and sometimes it is just too much to handle. 

But I believe in love.  I believe in caring for others.  I believe in service and community.  I want to be a part of the solution and I know change starts with each of us.  We aim to create a community in our office where laughter abounds and hugs are plentiful.  Together, healthier people have the power to make a better world.  “Imagine all the people living life in peace.  You may say that I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one.  I hope someday you'll join us and the world will be as one.” Imagine, John Lennon

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