Exactly 10 years ago this month, I wrote my first column for the Arizona Jewish Post. Running to Catch Up with Myself was an attempt to address the confusion, pain and fear I felt after 9/11.
I had no idea a decade ago that writing would become such an important part of my life.
I never imagined how much I would come to value the opportunity to explore issues, concerns and topics that captured my heart and imagination and the chance to share my thoughts with others.
Putting ideas into words and offering them to the world is a bit like parenting. You give birth to a story knowing you must let it go hoping that the world will receive it kindly. You feel excited, hopeful, vulnerable and scared, all at the same time. Most of all, you come to understand how important it is to share the truths that lie within you, even when you are afraid or know that the responses you receive may challenge or hurt you.
That has led me to understand another truth that so much of what we want to say, or wish we had said when we had the chance, remains unspoken. Ive heard it many times, from friends, my readers, my mother, my rabbi. The biggest regret most people have is not because of what they did say, but because of what they did not.
The rest of this article is available in the IJN’s print edition only. Contact Carol to order your copy at (303) 861-2234 or email [email protected].
