My dearest readers,
I am profoundly honored to write this post in
New York City, birthplace of some of the most gifted figures in art and
history. Most see me being here as a reward for my recent graduation, but the
truth is: it is but an intersection, an interface between my past and my
future, because one period of my life has ended, and another one is yet to
come. Now I could rest on my laurels, or I can catch a breath and brace for
whatever is coming up, and see it through. And if seeing is believing I might
as well stay armed to see forever.
It had been twelve years since I first visited
Ground Zero, the remains of once a symbol of power and strength. The
construction pit bore witness to the very day that changed all our lives
forever, a day anyone can recall as if it had been yesterday, the smoke and the
dust, the flames and the tears. A famous skyline landmark was no more, had been
erased, and eventually mingled with the concrete and steel that once held it
together before it collapsed with the many lives lost in between. There was
never going to be anything like it again, I heard people say back then, for the
entire world had been shaken.
But now, twelve years later, I visited what
once had been Ground Zero. Only a few cranes nearby reminded me of the gigantic
construction site I had seen over a decade ago. What struck me were the pools
to remind one of the severe pain suffered in the past, but what struck me
slightly more was a bluish crystal spine that reached into the sky and vanished
in the light overcast as though it wanted direct one toward the firmament.
Needless to say that "[a]lmost nothing need be said when you have eyes" (Tarjei
Vesaas).
The observatory program was titled See Forever. Standing in front of the
tower looking up was one impression, but being on top and looking down another one,
nearly surreal, not because of the view, but knowing that it had been built
upon the many lives and sacrifices and was furthermore a profound statement
that came out of suffering. Following the building progress throughout the past
years, the design, and everything that came with it, it was nothing but
overwhelming to see what man had built. And it had further been a profound
statement that there never were any doubts that hope and greatness would
prevail at last.
Nietzsche once wrote: "Glance into the world
just as though time were gone: and everything crooked will become straight to
you." We will always remember! A crooked passage in history took time to
process, but eventually it became straight. And likewise our at times crooked
past is to become straight. It depends on our belief and on our endurance to
create greatness out of suffering. In that sense, seeing becomes believing, not in a conventional sense but with regards to
foresight in our lives.
What do you see? Bear in mind that "[k]nowing
it and seeing it are two different things" (Suzanne Collins). But if you tend
to see things through with an eager eye, know that out of whatever suffering,
your indefinite foundation, you will be able to erect a building so beautiful
to leave people speechless. Therefore, do not rest on either laurels or pain
that reposes in the past, but brace for the future, your future, and see it through, because then you will see forever!
