
The Unspoken Thing
· Teachings · Bonnie Myotai Treace, grief, grieving, Ground Zero, mourning, Myotai Sensei, refuge, September 11, Winter / Spring 2019, zazenby Bonnie Myotai Treace, Sensei
Originally published in Mountain Record journal: “Practicing the Edge” (2001)
In the space between desire and despair, between holding and letting go; between clinging and release, in this space is the unspoken thing. The thing that lives.
—Lives of the Monster Dogs
I’ve been working over the last few weeks with family members as they make a memorial visit to Ground Zero. The trips begin at the Family Assistance Center on Dock 94, where death certificates are being issued and other support services can be arranged. The Center is very big and very busy. From there we get on a ferry that goes down river to the World Trade Center site. On the water there are gunboats everywhere you look, and on board there is significant security. The wind blows brisk and the river incongruously glistens, and on the way the clergy and mental health workers make what connections they can with the families, offering support or space as needed.
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