ON a crisp and clear September morning twenty-three years ago in New York City, Mryta Gschaar received a phone call from her loving husband, Robert, who was at work downtown.

He was calm as he quickly described what had happened while he was working on the 92nd floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. The towers had been attacked. Amidst the chaos that surrounded him, Robert reassured his wife and life partner that he would be safely evacuated. Like so many innocent victims, Robert did not make it out alive. With his tragic death, a part of Mryta also perished.  

About a year after the that tragic day of September 11, 2001, a tattered brown leather wallet was found. It was Robert’s wallet. In the wallet were various cards and identification. There was a library card from the Finkelstein Memorial Library, an MTA Metro card, a picture of Mryta, and an unusual and poignant piece of currency that was symbolic of the bond the couple shared. That currency was a $2 bill which one rarely sees in America. He and Myrta carried $2 bills during their 11-year marriage as a symbol that they were ‘two of a kind.’ 

The memory of September 11th stirs up so many reflections. While the families of the victims have healed in many ways, they still suffer from the wounds. We best honour them by living our days with eyes and arms open to those who need friendship and compassion. We need to spread goodwill and uplift, protect what is wholesome and lovely around us, whether those attributes are in people or nature.     

A couple weeks ago, I climbed the Piedmont Memorial Overlook in Sky Meadows State Park, Virginia. A plaque was affixed to a stone bolder at the top. It reads, “May the winds carry our ashes to the fields we fought to protect.” It is a place of reflection, where we can remember individuals who spent their lives working to protect the landscape that surrounds that spot of earth as one takes in the stunning vista.  

You and I share a gift – the present of the present. I’m happy to share it with you. You in Cornwall, and me here in the Washington, DC area. We may not be literally standing together on the crest of a hillside, but we are together standing side by side. We are here as human-beings overlooking the landscape, standing on the shore witnessing the swaying seas of days and seasons we have been extended.  

I am always inspired by people around the world who consider the wellbeing of people around them, especially people who have experienced trauma, shoulder mental health challenges or physical disabilities. The Wave Project that started in Cornwall and is now stretching all over the UK. I suspect it will go global one day.

The mission of the Wave Project is to improve children’s mental health and wellbeing through award-winning Surf Therapy initiatives. Countless children have built up their confidence and faced their anxieties through the programmes of the Wave Project. It is truly a force for good, and reminds us of what decency looks like when it washes ashore amidst troubled waters.      

As I reflect on this anniversary of September 11th, I feel the vulnerability of life and how delicate it is. The poignant and tattered wallet of Robert Gschaar with the torn two-dollar bill reminds me how precious and fleeting life is. Still the days we are gifted make us powerful. We possess the power to ensure that in the hours and days we have remaining that we aim to do good by others especially those closest to us.