I am sitting down to write this column on September 11, 2026. It is exactly 25 years ago that 19 al-Qaeda terrorists boarded four commercial airliners on morning flights from the east coast of the United States bound for California. The terrorists were able to hijack the planes and carry out coordinated suicide attacks, killing 2,977 people (and causing thousands more deaths in later years from exposure to toxins).

American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 each hit the World Trade Center in New York City, collapsing the twin towers within two hours of impact. About one year prior to the attacks, I was in New York City closing a large bank financing deal with a multinational borrower and a group of 20 commercial banks from around the world, and I stayed in a hotel across the street from the World Trade Center.

American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon (near Washington, D.C.) just above the door into the building off the helicopter pad, a door that I had used countless times during my career as a Navy helicopter pilot. My squadron had a scheduled Tuesday and Thursday Pentagon run for the Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet and his staff, a round trip to and from Norfolk, Virginia.

United Airlines Flight 93 was hijacked with an intended target in Washington, D.C., but the passengers and crew fought back and forced the plane to crash into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. No one on board survived.

This tragic event led me to reflect upon my career (among other things) and resulted in my becoming a criminal defense attorney, a career that I have found to be deeply satisfying.

On the 25th anniversary of this horrible morning, it is fitting to remember the people who lost their lives and the family members, friends, and colleagues who lost pieces of their souls that awful morning. It is also fitting to remember the first responders and emergency workers whose lives have forever been changed by the work that they did saving lives, recovering the dead, and tending to the ruins left behind.

It is also fitting to think about those bits of wisdom that come from witnessing a terrible loss. Life is fleeting. It is not guaranteed. Life can be cut short by illness and disease, accidents, and catastrophes. Life, with all its trials and triumphs big and small, should be savored.

Today, please take time to reflect upon what matters most in your lives. Think about holding your family and friends close. Let someone whose role in your life matters to you know how you feel about them. Let go of a grudge that you have been harboring or forgive someone, even if just silently to yourself. Practice small acts of kindness.

Work hard and take pride in a job done with effort, skill, dignity, and style. Play hard with joy and enthusiasm. Love with openness, attention, and sweetness. Let us resolve to live our lives ever mindful of our life priorities and with intention. Life is fleeting and precious. Make it count.

Today, please take time to reflect upon what matters most in your lives.