***This post was originally published in Rebecca Soulette’s newsletter, Latte For The Soul, yesterday (Sept 11, 2011) but, at the request of a number of the subscribers, it’s now here too–a day late, but the sentiment is still the same!***

Today is my annual “don’t turn on the TV day,” because I REALLY don’t want to be sucked in to reliving Sept 11th over and over and over and over, from every conceivable angle and situation. Living through the original day and making my own peace with it was enough for me.

Every year, around this time, my friends and I have talks about whether all of this “reliving it” stuff is beneficial to us or not. I know that some people need it–especially many who lost loved ones or who had a particularly hard-to-heal day that day. And many folks who weren’t in NYC, DC, or PA appreciate being able to have a day to honor what a tough day it was.

But here’s what I have a problem with: the peer pressure that can result from this kind of  (forced) collective remembrance. (more…)