Back in late 2001, I wrote a staff memo (on paper with ink…pre-blog) that attempted to implore my associates to take a hard look at how well they were balancing their personal and professional lives (That’s sometimes a difficult task in the real estate business). After all, 2001 was the year of the tragic events of 9-11 (could it really be ten years ago?) that changed us and our priorities forever.  We woke up on 9-12 in a different world.

This year, we’ve been reminded of how quickly lives can be changed forever…or worse. Tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, and flooding have impacted many of our neighbors in the Carolinas, and, while not as psychologically damaging on a national scale as the terrors of 9-11, we still hurt. I wrote back then:

“In trying times, I sometimes look to music for guidance. (Side note: George Harrison had died in November 2001.)

In 1967, the late Beatle George Harrison created a song that most clearly articulated his beliefs. “Within You Without You,” his sole compositional contribution to “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (employing no other Beatles and no rock instruments), pairs worldview and personality in lines that now seem prophetic.

“The people who hide themselves
Behind a wall of illusion
Never glimpse the truth
Then it’s far too late
When they pass away.”

Whether he was warning others or testing his own conviction, the admonition stands. “The time will come when you see we’re all one/ And life flows on within you and without you.”

Hug your children; appreciate one another; be better to one another.”

So, on the tenth anniversary of a national tragedy in this year of natural disasters that have altered our own landscapes and perspective, I offer up George’s words (and my own) again.  Rather than just reminisce about the events of the day a decade ago, let’s try to find ways to make our days here better.

By Tom Gongaware