Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013 marks the 12th anniversary since the World Trade Center towers were attacked by terrorists, sending the nation and the rest of the world into a climate of increased hostility and wariness.
Auburn University commemorated the 12th anniversary with an Honor Walk in the form of a labyrinth on Cater Lawn.
"On that terrible day around the country a strange thing happened," said Johnny Green, director of the Auburn University Veteran Resource Center. "People began walking in a very ancient and powerful way. In the dust and ashes of lower Manhattan, they began drawing the circle of the labyrinth and began to walk its winding path."
The labyrinth is designed to guide people through three phases of recovery to remember those lost, and to move forward for those still with us through the tangle of a maze, symbolizing the meanders and unexpected turns of life.
It begins with the "release," the act of letting go of anxiety, concerns and grief, an act many embodied by carrying stones along the path in order to unload it, either along the way or at the center.
Following is "receive," embodied by a pool of water at the center to cleanse your hands and open yourself to new possibilities.
The third and final phase is "restore," symbolized by the lighting of candles at the center of the labyrinth for the fallen and bringing it out the way you came and back into the world.
"They walked for those deceased, the missing, those who gave their unstinting help 24 hours (per) day. They walked for their country so that we may stand strong, and we are gratefully aware that we stand on many shoulders," Green said.
The Honor walk is open to the public and all are invited to come remember those who sacrificed their lives so that we could build for the future.
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