For months after 9/11, Allison Crowther looked for clues about what happened to her son, Welles. She finally found one.
Welles worked in the South Tower. After the plane hit, his volunteer firefighter training kicked in. He led and carried multiple people to safety down the sole remaining stairwell. He returned to save more until the tower collapsed.
Months later, Allison found a survivor’s story about a young man with a red bandana, who saved many lives. It was him. Wells always carried that bandana, a gift from his father.
Welle’s story is appealing, not just because we need heroes and admire courage. It is because we know how he will be remembered. His red bandana displayed in the 9/11 memorial museum symbolizes a life well-lived, though cut short.
Remembering Welles reminds us of our own desire to be known and valued. Call it the longing to leave a legacy or the impulse for immortality. Is my life more than carvings on a tombstone? Will the world be a better place because I was in it? To condense these questions to a word: purpose.
But note, a purposeful life is not necessarily meaningful. The difference is simple – does the purpose serve others or oneself? Herein lies one of the secrets of life, revealed by Jesus Christ. After explaining that the foremost commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, He pivoted to this: “The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37ff). Those form your God-given purpose.
What Jesus’ hearers did not know was that He created in us a delightful response to an act of altruism. It activates the brain’s reward system, giving you the warm glow of a dopamine hit. It has a calming, stress-reducing effect. But more than momentary pleasure, loving God and loving neighbor is your path to a deeper joy, even in a world of hurt.
May God bless the Crowther family with grace and peace. Welles will forever be known as the rescuer in the red bandana. He was 24.