it's hard to believe it's been 10 years. i remember exactly everything that happened the morning of september 11, 2001. i woke up a little earlier than usual, and decided to watch the morning news while getting ready for work, which i never do cuz i'm usually running late from hitting the snooze button too much! the first tower was on fire, and there was a lot of confusion as to what happened. it was a crazy sight, but at the time, no one thought it was terrorists, they all thought it was some sort of freak accident. i half paid attention as i got ready for work, at a law firm in downtown SF. i got in my car and drove to the BART station. got on BART, and it was kinda weird. when i got to embarcadero station, everyone was trying to get ON the train, as a few of us were trying to get off. as i walked the few blocks to my building, ppl were walking in every direction, which was odd since everyone's usually walking in the same direction. then when i got to my building, i saw lots of ppl standing outside, and several coworkers. i was told that the world trade center buildings had collapsed and that the office was closed, so i should go home. W's mom was in town, actually staying at the hyatt downtown. i called W and he was at his mom's hotel room, and told me to come over. i had to walk in downtown SF and it was the eeriest feeling, and i couldn't help but keep looking up at the sky, afraid that the buildings around me would collapse too. everything was just chaotic that morning, the city was not going to work, ppl were just going every which way. the 3 of us were glued to the TV as we watched the events unfold, as details slowly began to emerge of a terrorist attack, not a random freak accident. things just got worse and worse.

it saddens me to think that there are ppl out there that are so full of hatred that they could actually do something like this, with no remorse. it's like they're robots. they were probably brainwashed since birth to hate a certain type of ppl, and do anything, including suicide missions, to deal with this hatred. i hate that that moment changed us the way it did. it made us feel so vulnerable, on the defensive, waiting for another horrible attack. i hate that my kids have to live in a world like this.

Today, as we mark the tenth anniversary of the September 11th 2001 attacks on New York and Washington DC, let us remember all the innocent lives lost and ponder the continuing impact of that tragic day. September 11th reminds us of the horror we human beings can unleash on ourselves when we allow our human intelligence and powerful technology to be overtaken by hatred.

We need to learn from our painful memories of September 11th and become more aware of the destructive consequences that arise when we give in to feelings of hatred. This tragedy in particular has reinforced my belief that fostering a spirit of peaceful co-existence and mutual understanding among the world’s peoples and faith traditions is an urgent matter of importance to us all. We must therefore make every effort to ensure that our various faith traditions contribute to build a more caring, peaceful world.

The Dalai Lama
September 9, 2011