- Illustration by Mario Ruiz
- Photos & Reflection by Jeremy Del Rio
The seeds that bloomed into Thrive Collective were planted in The Pile at Ground Zero on 9/11.
My father Pastor Rick Del Rio’s 9/11 story and my own have been well reported. See this Tedx talk for a summary: thrivecollective.org/tedx.
What’s less well known is this prayer I prayed alongside a bucket brigade on The Pile the morning of September 12. “Buried in the rubble are the seeds of revival.”
The promise of renewal and rebirth seemed so far away, yet were profoundly evident in the shared trauma and common cause that emerged as quickly as the attacks.
Later that day as I walked to Union Square, I saw public messages scrawled in ashes and dust, posted on street signs, hanging from windows, and displayed throughout the park. Survivors and mourners had already begun expressing grief and prayers in these primitive displays of public art. Some were roughly sketched, others remarkably polished. Layers of debris recast familiar images and landscapes. Even flags and undisturbed tombstones inspired hope.
All expressed the travail and yearnings of a community ravaged by grief. They also provided me the most visceral lived experience of the power of art to help hurting heARTs heal.
Let us never forget.
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