I am a journaler. It has been self healing, and helps me to understand life on a different level.
This morning, I looked back on a day in March that I penciled my thoughts, and it gave me a huge desire to share my writings with you.
My Writing on Thursday March 23, 2023
Oh the days go by. The feelings each day, each hour, each minute are different. One just never knows how one will feel at any current moment. They just don’t.
One moment you can be happy and joyful, and in another minute, things can change and the tears can well up and overflow. It’s all part of living, growing and evolving.
This morning I listened to Simon Sinek a British-born American author and inspirational speaker. Simon spoke about an experience he had during the war in Afghanistan several years ago. He was there. Seared in fear of death and all the things.
It wasn’t until he decided he needed to just go and be of service to the ones who were serving. His life had changed immensely in these moments.
The human touch speaks volumes
A plane was able to take him and a few others back home from the horrible and devastating war. In tremendous anxiety, Simon and others rushed to get to the plane. Little did he know, the plane he was to get on was a plane that was transporting a fallen soldier back home to the USA.
Simon met a doctor on the aircraft, and asked the man a question: “Do you have a different kind of feeling on these missions than you do back home?”
The doctor replied: “90 to 95% of the people who come through ER are either drunks or idiots. There’s not a single drunk or idiot on this aircraft.” The doctor relayed that the feeling he gets when he works these missions during his reserve hours is more powerful than ANY feeling he would ever get when working back home.
The doctor said: “THE GREATEST SENSE OF MEANING AND PURPOSE WE CAN HAVE IN OUR LIVES IS TO SERVE THOSE WHO SERVE OTHERS.”
A smile and a handshake is all one may need.*
Simon, back in the USA, spoke about his experience, his story of being/going to Afghanistan in front of an audience. Simon got choked up, and was so very emotional while sharing his story. Simon struggled hard to get through his story. His story was so raw and real.
Simon spoke about how someone in the private sector would typically say, in response to his sharing struggle…… “Take your time. It’s Okay. It happened. Take your time.”
Simon said, that’s not what happened. He continued to stand in front of his audience, all choked up in complete silence. He couldn’t speak. Simon couldn’t continue the emotional story he was sharing.
Then, a voice from the back of the room resounded, a General spoke up, and said:
“Go on.” Meaning: “Go on, and we are with you.”
Simon said that’s the difference between the private sector and those wonderful people he was among.
“The private sector says take your time, as if you’re alone. Take all the time you need. By yourself.”
“And these people, who truly know what, and understand what service truly means, they say: “Go forward. Go on. Move forward. You have no choice, and WE WILL BE WITH YOU!”
Simon shared, “When my friends are struggling, I don’t say, “Take your time.” When my friends are struggling, I say: “Go on.” When my friends are crying, I say: “Go on.!”
The underlying message is: “And I am sitting here in the mud with you.”
Simon says, “It is the greatest honour of my life, to sit in the mud with those who are struggling.”
And because of this experience of Simon’s, is where his book “Leaders Eat Last” was created.
Today I have learned from Simon’s story, that I need to be of service to others, better than I have been.
There are so many opportunities to be of service, we just need to be open to them, and begin serving.
Who can you be of service in your life today?
From Home on the Ranch
Sue
P.S. “The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Mahatma Gandhi
