Veterans Day

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed." Dwight D. Eisenhower

I found this statement from President Eisenhower interesting, given that he was a General in World War II. Recently I talked to a Vietnam veteran, and he said he hates war. Then he added that no one hates war as much as a man who has fought in one.

Today is Veterans Day, and those who have served our country deserve to be honored and appreciated. Some made the ultimate sacrifice, and those who come home often find the transition into civilian life difficult. What can we do, what can I as an individual do, to make sure it is a little easier for them?

At work when a customer uses a credit card, I ask to see ID. Sometimes I am shown a military ID, and try to always say "Thank you for your service." Yesterday a woman showed me her military ID, and I saw that she was a dependent. I thanked her for her service, and she said, "Oh, it's my husband." I replied that my son was in the Air Force for eight years, and the families are serving and sacrificing, too. She seemed surprised that someone would acknowledge that, and thanked me for saying it.

It's true, though, isn't it? Even those of us who are not veterans are connected to veterans as family members, friends and neighbors. We are all in this together. I know part of who we are as Americans is that we value individualism, but I think sometimes we take it too far and to our own detriment. For when we feel connected, when we understand that we are all brothers and sisters here in this nation, and on this planet, maybe we would decide to take better care of each other.

Happy Veterans Day.

Susan

"He Ain't Heavy" written by Bob Russell and Bobby Scott.

In the Nick of Time

"At the moment of commitment, the entire universe conspires to assist you." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

She had struggled with the pain of infertility her entire life. Her husband adored her and she adored him, and she wanted that to be enough. It wasn't. She longed to be a mother. She reached the age where she thought it was impossible to conceive, and all hope was gone. It was just then that it seemed she had become pregnant. She laughed, a kind of mirthless, bitter laugh. Was nature playing some kind of cruel, sick joke on her? Not at all. Sarah was, indeed, expecting a baby. She named her miracle baby Isaac. Her husband had other children, but this child of his old age became Abraham's favorite.

When Isaac was a young man, he and his father took the customary trip to the mountain top to offer an animal sacrifice, a blood offering. What Abraham didn't tell his son was that he was convinced God wanted him to offer up Isaac. (Now I mean no disrespect to those who revere the Bible, but this has to be one of the most horrific ideas that book contains. And frankly, I could not love a god who wanted me to kill my child as some kind of odd test of my devotion. But even I can see that there is an important principle at work here.) Isaac showed his curiosity when he said, "Dad, we have the wood for the fire, but where is the lamb?" Abraham said, "God will provide the sacrifice." Abraham tied his son and put him on top of the wood, and just as he was ready to plunge the knife in, God stopped him and told him not to do it. There was a ram caught in a nearby bush, and father and son used that for the offering. Just in the nick of time.

Some might think that the really great things in life, the realization of our dreams, requires suffering and sacrifice. That somehow we must become martyrs before we can realize joy, peace and fulfillment. That there is some painful price to be paid, a very high price, for everything good. Maybe sometimes, but surely not most of the time. I think it's not the sacrifice, but the willingness to sacrifice, that is key. It's all about commitment. Once we commit to giving it our all, to letting go, things really begin to happen. It seems as though everyone and everything comes together to help us realize that dream. The universe conspires to assist us. Sometimes just in the nick of time.

Do you hold everything and everyone dear to you tightly in your fists? Or do you know how to let go? A friend of a friend put it very well when she said, "Let go or be dragged." Sometimes we make things much harder than they need to be. We stoically, heroically prepare for a life of sacrifice and suffering, when all that is needed is our commitment to call forth all the power we need. Sometimes just in the nick of time.

Susan