COME FROM AWAY

This past weekend I watched a documentary about 9/11 called, You Are Here: A Come From Away Story (2018).

It evoked a 2019 memory of Sr. Antoniana welcoming me to the Sisters of Life Centre as a sort of "Come From Away" too: One stuck in trauma, who landed on her doorstep during a snowstorm.  And, just like the plane-people in Newfoundland during 9/11, I was welcomed with unexpectedly happy, joyful, loving, generous, open arms.

I felt (and still feel) like she did for me, what Gander did for stranded 9/11 passengers in 2001.  I too got diverted (just in time for the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in Toronto) to a generous, hospitable, loving, religious community with very different political DNA than my own.

Having said that, my take-away as a "Come From Away" with the Sisters of Life is this:  Without trauma, loss, tragedy, disasters, diversions, and different politics, then how could a 'Gander' ever have happened, or the Sisters of Life?

I want to end today by sharing the most helpful talk I've heard yet on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.  It's called, Can I Go Back There?: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder 101.  I thought with today being the 22nd anniversary of 9/11 it would be a good time to share it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRNKZ7HuBCs

PS Prayer:

God bless, and Mary protect, every single person affected in any and every way by 9/11. Let's protect each other, all of us affected by trauma who are still living no matter where, no matter what. Amen

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