In five months the ten-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington that claimed about 3,000 lives will take place.Ten years ago I was working as a senior psychologist attached to the child and family department of a community mental health organisation in Shelby, North Carolina.They usually had a soft music station playing on the radio that came through speakers in hushed tones in the hallways, and one such speaker was mounted on the ceiling just outside my office. Nobody came for service that day. The staff sat stunned in our various offices, but from time to time congregated in the hallways, listening to the news that had replaced the usual music.I remember realising, “We are at war”. I recall the comparison made between the numbers of people lost in the twin towers, the Pentagon, and Flight 93 to those killed at Pearl Harbor, but in trying to estimate the response, the comparison broke down. The United States had a clear country to go after in 1942, but in 2001 there was no clear country. There was a network of terrorists and radical jihadists that were scattered around the world. True, the headquarters of that network was sheltered in Afghanistan, but when the United States went after them there, they escaped, and they eluded capture for ten years. Many of the plotters of the actual terrorist attacks were subsequently apprehended and detained in Cuba. However, the leader of the network himself, the symbolic figurehead, obtained mythic status as he eluded his pursuers, and, over time, he seemed untouchable. Many thought he would never be seized.They were wrong.I woke up this Monday morning and went online as usual to check overnight e-mail and to peruse the news and check the weather. At first I thought it was a hoax, but it wasn’t. Osama bin Laden is dead.Navy Seals dropped in on him and shot him in the head when he resisted. They took his body, prepared it for burial according to Islamic custom, and then they buried it at sea. Over. Done. Closure.Or not.This does not bring back a loved one lost to the war on terror, whether or not that person was lost in the towers, fell on a battlefield, or was killed in a terrorist attack somewhere else. This is just a marker denoting that significant events keep happening in the world around us. Those celebrating in New York or in front of the White House in Washington, when asked why they were there, often said, “This is history happening, and we want to be a part of it.” What they meant is that they wanted to feel like they were there where significant things were taking place and that they were part of that part of something important, meaningful, worthy of attention, something notable and remarkable.A recent study of the changes resulting from contemporary psychoanalysis show that safety, meaningfulness, and sameness (or constancy) are critical factors leading to successful living. That is, people need to feel that they are safe from destructive crises. They need to sense that there will be some kind of ongoing existence in their living, and they need to feel that what they are doing in life is meaningful. Change processes in terms of the individual experience of self (this is what psychologists say when they mean the sense that one IS, one has a life and is aware of living that life) rest on these three features. Once again: safety, constancy, and meaningfulness.So, how is the average Bermudian doing with regard to these important considerations?Safety: Bootsie’s closed because of safety issues. Bermuda has just experienced its fifth murder this current year. People continue to die on the roads.Constancy: The economy is uncertain. The situation is quite liquid. If a polarity between change and constancy were established, the pendulum would be seen to be on the side of change.Meaningfulness: People need to feel that what they are doing with their lives matters, that they are not wasting time until time is no more and it’s too late to make something of oneself. People need to have markers by which to measure their lives, and they need to believe that it’s possible to succeed in the ways they would like to succeed here in Bermuda. If they cannot do that in Bermuda, then they need to be able to see a way to get beyond Bermuda and move somewhere else where they can thrive. Thus, meaningfulness is linked to one’s concept of success.If you peruse Success Magazine, you’ll see article after article about people who are achieving something. They are heading up companies. They are making money. They are creating new technologies. They are poster children for character traits that support achievement. It’s all about getting ahead, getting somewhere. Often in order to get somewhere a person needs to take chances and endure change. Thus, for many people interested in success, they must find significance at the expense of safety and constancy. They must take chances and put their lives on the line for something they believe in.Now, here’s where you expect me to turn the conversation to religion. I’m not going to do that. It’s up to you, and it’s between you and God if you are to find a meaningful life in risking safety, enduring change, and finding something meaningful in a life of faith in God. I’m not going to tell you which god is the real God. If God is real, He will make that clear to you.All I know is that this life does not go on forever. There is no real constancy, because everything is constantly changing. People thought Bin Laden would never be caught; I imagine he was feeling snug and safe a few hundred yards from the Pakistani Military Academy, behind 20ft walls in a 3,000sq ft compound.Was his life one of fame or infamy? One can be significant for something deplorable or for something admirable. Osama Bin Laden is gone. God knows it was about time.