Ten years ago I watched the horror unfolding on TV with a sense of detachment, thinking how lucky I was that the tragedy didn’t affect me directly.

Over the last decade I’ve learned how much it did. Yes, on a larger scale we were all affected, but as time passed it became much clearer how connected we all are. I learned later of an old friend who had perished on that day, the brother of a friend who narrowly escaped; the 391 employees & contractors of a company I worked for soon after; and the many lost loved ones of other friends, family, and co-workers.

Today I mourn for all those who were lost on that day and in the following years in Iraq & Afghanistan. My heart breaks for all their loved ones. May you find peace, and may peace prevail on earth.