I am sure almost every person who keeps a "real" blog are trying to figure out how to address the 10-year anniversary of September 11th and the horrors and heroism of that day.

Earlier this week I recorded a show that addressed how popular culture responded to 9/11 and how that helped people to begin healing. Watching it tonight, I can't help but ask one question:

How long will it take before seeing video and hearing stories of the people whose lives were immediately effected by the events of the day will stop making me cry? When will it stop hurting to empathize with the losses of that day?

I didn't know anyone immediately involved. No one I know died or lost a loved one - at least as far as I know. I guess I'm just too sensitive. It is too easy for me to imagine myself in others' shoes and to feel a shadow of the pain - and that isn't just with this tragedy. Empathy is a double-sided blade. It helps you to feel more alive and connected to others, but it makes it easy to feel pain that isn't my own. It becomes my own.

On the anniversary, take time to help a stranger, smile at a server, volunteer, hug a loved one, anything to remind you, even for a moment, that you are part of the "tribe" of humanity. Please.