Let Them Shine - A Tribute for Veterans Day

Every time I see a news story, a commercial, a photo, or even hear about a story of a man or woman in uniform coming home, I feel like it is happening to me. I feel myself receiving that news, my tears welling up, my heart fluttering away, and my worries burning to a crisp nothing inside. The music and the thought that go into advertisements and embellished stories always help my sobs to strengthen, but this veterans day I find myself needing to do more than feel it.

I have never had someone I love away for months at a time. I've never been the mother to a child who I must leave behind, or the mother to a child who must now be parenting alone for the next several months. I have never carried on a family tradition of enlistment, nor have I come home from an experience overseas that I can no longer think about without overwhelming loneliness or hardness.

 In America we are the land of the free, the home of the brave. We fight for our freedom. We destroy the enemy, and we create hope for our country. We sacrifice, we unite, we conquer. We. In America, we sometimes forget who "we" are.

We are the 19 year old kid fresh out of high school. We are the mother of two, trying to make a better world for her children. We are the brothers, following in our father's footsteps. We are the college dropout, knowing any future is better than none. These men and women are the face of "we" in America. They have made a choice to stand and defend their country, regardless of their reason to enlist. They have made the sacrifice that the rest of America will reap benefits from. It is so important to remember that we Americans have stood alongside our televisions, praying our children and our husbands and wives come home at all. We have written letters, sent photos, and stood on the sidelines. Though we have all felt heartache, we have never been in their shoes. We have never risked our lives, never uprooted ourselves, we have never made a sacrifice of our own life, to defend our country.

"We" have spent nights alone lying on unknown soils, in a foreign country, facing death each day. We have seen our brothers and sisters fall to wars that were not ours, and we have seen innocent blood shed. We have been afraid for our lives every second, and we have become numb to reality. We have lost part of who we are somewhere overseas, or somewhere in training, somewhere along the line. It has been replaced with duty, with a goal, with an outcome. "We" may never have seen battle, or have never been in direct battle, but we still willingly took that risk on, not knowing what the outcome would be. The scariest part of not being present at a battlefield, is knowing that you may have to be, but you just don't know.

Our country stands united with "we", but lest we forget that divided "we" fall. There is no belittling, for we are all Americans. We are all significant. However, on Veterans day it is important to remember that someone you do not know, has died for your freedom. A family has lost a child, a husband, or a wife, so you can live the way you do each day in America. Free. It is vital to realize someone else sacrificed their youth, their marriage, their parenthood, their educational opportunities, to enlist and to protect and serve you.

Perhaps it is enough for someone to go to a parade, and feel a sense of pride in their country, but I encourage you this veterans day to feel and act with gratitude and compassion. Thank an active duty member or veteran for your protection, for standing tall for our country, for making sure you could live a life so many in this world have never known. Realize that you are so lucky to have them on your side, and maybe then you will realize how much they need you too.

They need to be reminded that they are heroes. They come home and feel they must fit back into a "normal routine", and they need your help doing that. They need your love and compassion, your patience, and most of all, your gratitude. They did not fight to obey the president, they fought to keep you safe. Loving our men and women in uniform goes beyond discounted meals, drinks, and one day only sales. It goes beyond parades and flags and television specials, loving them does not last only one day, but a lifetime. Your pride in them, your thanks, and your remembrance of their sacrifices each and every day, even if just for a minute, is the love they deserve.

 Loving a veteran has been one of the most eye open experiences. They have so much to give you, and they ask for so little in return. Their strength and determination is remarkable, and I encourage you to pull them close, for it is a decision you will not regret. A precious soul may have been lost, yet another has been spared. Give those souls your utmost thanks and love, and they will not perish.

This veterans day, dim your world a bit, and let these men and women shine.

Hello! Nice to meet you! Now, it's time to find your passion.

I think about things daily that I sometimes don't think other people ever consider. Though, undoubtedly I am incredibly wrong, I get this feeling that I am the only one. If I say something, someone else might think I'm a raging lunatic, and absurd on every realm to be relaying my ridiculous inner thoughts. I sit alone in my living room watching documentaries and getting all of these ideas and opinions and I get SO excited to hear them, and BOOM. You're alone and you peer into the kitchen, as a dust bunny rolls across the floor, hoping someone will walk out that you can share this AWESOME show with, but no one is there. I'm not alone, but sometime I feel I truly am. This is when I realize that I need a little more human contact, and maybe a cup of coffee to get me to kick my sorry self into gear and integrate with other minds. That's why I am here! 

I am new to blogging, but not new to writing. Though my journal is a much safer place where I will never receive cruel feedback, I feel it's time to venture out and share my inner conversations between me, myself, and I, with someone else. 

OK, let's hop right onto this train.

TED TALKS. Have you ever seen a Ted Talks episode? Some may be groaning. I remember those days when some of these videos passed as a portion of class time in high school. Hey, we're (I) am much older now, and I am incredibly excited about this! Check out the Ted Talks video I posted for the detailed lecture, but the content is what shot out at me.

Personally, I contemplate many things about my future very often. Mostly because I am under the typical (correct me if I'm wrong) American mindset that I need to work, work, work in order to bring success to myself or my future family. There is little room for error, if you truly want a great job, you will need to work tirelessly towards your goal. Larry Smith, the economist speaking in the video, reminds us of the ways that we stand alongside our futures and expect one to take hold once we have worked hard. It's thought finding a great career is a matter of luck and networks, confidence in yourself, obsessive working, or just working REALLY hard. Once you do these things, you will be happy.

I had to think for a minute, and knew this old man was speaking about all of us, but it felt so strangely like he was speaking only to me. Why can't we be happy through the entire "working hard" process? Maybe that's what is wrong with our culture and society. We idolize the American dream of "working hard" to get to where we are now, but how many people are truly, genuinely happy where they are, right now? We are always told that in order to be HAPPY, we should pursue our passion. However, it's through the actions above that we seek to find this "happiness", NOT through pursuing our passion. 

Maybe you're still working hard studying to get a job where you can get your foot in the door. Have you ever wondered where this door will be? Will it be somewhere that pays you well, that offers good insurance and benefits, or is what your family wants for you, what you want for yourself?  Maybe you have just gotten your foot in the door somewhere, and are currently happy to have a good job, and I am happy for you. Even if you have been at your job for years now, I encourage you to constantly communicate with yourself and ponder," Is this something I have a passion for?", or "Is this something I can feel my passion in?"

What is passion? Some might compare it to love, something that always makes you feel good, that you can rarely, if ever, tire of. How do you know if you're pursuing it? I'm thinking to myself, "Can I only be pursuing my passion if I have a career directly related to my passion?" For example, I am a Conservation and Environmental Science Student, does this mean I can only have a career working on conservation projects to truly feel happy? Now, I love working on conservation and restoration projects hands on. The wilderness is incredible, the growth of the plants and the resilience they have developed in this cold Wisconsin climate astounds me on all levels continually, but does that mean I can make a HAPPY and PASSIONATE career out of this? 

I found most helpful a job interview question I had a few months back. I worked the previous summer outdoors doing prairie management, and was applying for an membership specialist position (I have an office background too). I was asked "So, I see you have worked outdoors and hands on with nature, do you think you will be able to find happiness working indoors behind a desk?" WOAH. I had prepped several word documents with my answers for typical phone interview questions, but this question came jam packed hurling at me a million miles an hour with a ball of flame attached to it. I had no time to prepare, so I gulped and bellowed out my gut response. "Yes, absolutely." Here's why.

I was applying for a Nature Preserve membership position. I realized, as I began talking through my answer out loud to her, that not only was my answer impressively organized for being so unexpected, but it was impressively organized because it was true. I told her that my passion was working towards a greater good. The greater good, to me, is something that is above and beyond our human goodness capabilities. Nature provides us with free services (air and water filtration, ozone protection, etc), and these things are the greater good. Our forests absorb CO2, our prairies provide homes for amazing flora and fauna, wetlands filtering out toxins from the surrounding environment. The wilderness is our greater good. When I am at a job, I look at what I am doing, and ask myself, "Can I see my work  directly affecting the greater good?" If I cannot, I know that even though I may be temporarily happy, I will ultimately fall short.

We spend most of our lives working, and mostly eight or more hours a day or more at our jobs. We deserve to be truly happy, and we deserve to be able to pursue our passions. Happiness cannot be given, it can only be worked towards. Don't give yourself the short end of the stick and stop pursuing your happiness. Dream your dreams, pursue whatever it is you feel passion towards. Don't let the doubts bog you down!

In my life, both work and home, I want happiness to reign. I want to be a great wife to my husband (someday) and I want to be a great sister, a daughter, and sister-in-law. I want my happiness to bloom from within, and shower on those who surround me. What is our quality of life if we are not pursuing our passions, the things we love and hold most dearly to our heart?