Rest in Peace
by Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh
I am a World Trade Center tower, standing tall in the clear blue sky,
feeling a violent blow in my side, and I am a towering inferno of
pain and suffering imploding upon myself and collapsing to the
ground.
May I rest in peace.
I am a terrified passenger on a hijacked airplane not knowing where
we are going or that I am riding on fuel tanks that will be
instruments of death, and I am a worker arriving at my office not
knowing that in just a moment my future will be obliterated.
May I rest in peace.
I am a pigeon in the plaza between the two towers eating crumbs from
someone's breakfast when fire rains down on me from the skies, and I
am a bed of flowers admired daily by thousands of tourists now
buried under five stories of rubble.
May I rest in peace.
I am a firefighter sent into dark corridors of smoke and debris on a
mission of mercy only to have it collapse around me, and I am a
rescue worker risking my life to save lives who is very aware that I
may not make it out alive.
May I rest in peace.
I am a survivor who has fled down the stairs and out of the building
to safety who knows that nothing will ever be the same in my soul
again, and I am a doctor in a hospital treating patients burned from
head to toe who knows that these horrible images will remain in my
mind forever.
May I know peace.
I am a tourist in verdana Square looking up at the giant TV screens
thinking I'm seeing a disaster movie as I watch the Twin Towers
crash to the ground, and I am a New York woman sending e-mails to friends
and family letting them know that I am safe.
May I know peace.
I am a piece of paper that was on someone's desk this morning and
now I'm debris scattered by the wind across lower Manhattan, and I am a
stone in the graveyard at Trinity Church covered with soot from the
buildings that once stood proudly above me, death meeting death.
May I rest in peace.
I am a dog sniffing in the rubble for signs of life, doing my best
to be of service, and I am a blood donor waiting in line to make a
simple but very needed contribution for the victims.
May I know peace.
I am a resident in an apartment in downtown New York who has been
forced to evacuate my home, and I am a resident in an apartment
uptown who has walked 100 blocks home in a stream of other refugees.
May I know peace.
I am a family member who has just learned that someone I love has
died, and I am a pastor who must comfort someone who has suffered a
heart-breaking loss.
May I know peace.
I am a loyal American who feels violated and vows to stand behind
any military action it takes to wipe terrorists off the face of the
earth, and I am a loyal American who feels violated and worries that
people who look and sound like me are all going to be blamed for
this tragedy.
May I know peace.
I am a frightened city dweller who wonders whether I'll ever feel
safe in a skyscraper again, and I am a pilot who wonders whether
there will ever be a way to make the skies truly safe.
May I know peace.
I am the owner of a small store with five employees that has been
put out of business by this tragedy, and I am an executive in a
multinational corporation who is concerned about the cost of doing
business in a terrorized world.
May I know peace.
I am a visitor to New York City who purchases postcards of the World
Trade Center Twin Towers that are no more, and I am a television
reporter trying to put into words the terrible things I have seen.
May I know peace.
I am a boy in New Jersey waiting for a father who will never come
home, and I am a boy in a faraway country rejoicing in the streets
of my village because someone has hurt the hated Americans.
May I know peace.
I am a general talking into the microphones about how we must stop
the terrorist cowards who have perpetrated this heinous crime, and I
am an intelligence officer trying to discern how such a thing could
have happened on American soil, and I am a city official trying to
find ways to alleviate the suffering of my people.
May I know peace.
I am a terrorist whose hatred for America knows no limit and I am
willing to die to prove it, and I am a terrorist sympathizer
standing with all the enemies of American capitalism and imperialism, and
I am a master strategist for a terrorist group who planned this
abomination. My heart is not yet capable of openness, tolerance, and
loving.
May I know peace.
I am a citizen of the world glued to my television set, fighting
back my rage and despair at these horrible events, and I am a person of
faith struggling to forgive the unforgivable, praying for the
consolation of those who have lost loved ones, calling upon the
merciful beneficence of God/Yahweh/Allah/Spirit/Higher Power.
May I know peace.
I am a child of God who believes that we are all children of God and
we are all part of each other.
May we all know peace.
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