The unimaginable is often an enemy of our imagination

​I was sitting in a staff meeting when we turned on the television and watched the plane fly into the building. I didn't know in that precise moment that I was watching the unimaginable. But that is indeed what I was watching. The unimaginable.

I will never forget the horrors that became a part of that scene as the story unfolded in the days and weeks ahead. The horrors that linger in far too many with just as much grief as they were delivered with over twenty years ago.

But for me, what lingers most these days, is the reminder that no matter how much effort I put into making a life that is fully imaginable, I will never be able to escape the unimaginable.

No matter how strongly I feel I should be able to go to and arrive home from work safely each day, a workplace can topple without warning.

No matter how strongly I feel I should be able to count on my sons being in my life forever, sons can disappear without warning.

No matter how strongly I plan for safety, life threatens to expose a lack of safety around every corner.

No matter how clearly I imagine a beautiful life on September 12th, September 11th is always a threat to blanket my imagination with unimaginable darkness.

I know that sounds like a rather dire and hopeless message, but for me it is not.

For when you realize that life is vulnerable, you also realize the most beautiful chance you have at a fulfilling life is matching life's vulnerability, not hiding from it. When you realize just how committed life is to never playing it safe, you also realize how futile it is to live a life that is built on playing it safe.

It is a point of tension to always be imagining the pros and cons of every next move when life at times seems to, quite out of the blue, stop considering the pros and cons at all.

I will always remember where I was September 11, 2001.

But more importantly, I know where I am September 11, 2024.

I am living a life in a world that comes with no promises. I am living a life in a world that at times certainly embraces my plans, but also with great savagery is willing to undo every single syllable of them.

The closest life ever comes to a promise is this moment. This moment that I am granted to explore my heart and my gratitude for all that can be discovered and created here - here in this very moment.

Any promises I need to have about future moments to make the most of this moment are not promises at all.

They are often lies.

I witnessed the devastating truth of 9/11 over two decades ago. It will forever serve as a reminder of a life-giving truth today. The world is a vulnerable place, and playing it safe may be one of the riskiest things I can do.

I can imagine a beautiful future, but life is always poised to undo that plan with unimaginable darkness. So best to create beauty where life is least likely to steal it away.

And that is right now.

That is right here, where I am.