The 56th Mile of Life

Hello Wondering Reader,

I am switching gears on this one. Please be advised that this post contains imagery that might be triggering or sensitive for readers. The trigger warning is this: violence, war, vivid depiction, and language. Please proceed at your own discretion, this is an 18+ post.

No man’s land is a space during war where no one wants to go. Soldiers know this as the place that tests you the most. It is the place where you get in the dirt and the grime and pray to God, you make it out. A place born out of pure hell. Only few know what it feels like to have their very own No Mans land. It may not be a battlefield on earth but it is a position in which we find our selves broken to the ground and deciding if we are going to run and try to survive, or stay and die.

It feels like this. In a moment you are surrounded on every front. You keep thinking how you are going to get out of it and wonder what happens when you reach the other side. You take a breath and start running. Bullets fly past you and hit the dirt making splatters in the mud every step you take. Bullets are so close you can feel the wind as they rip past you. Your heart pumps into overdrive taking it in and your bodies fight or flight kicks. You run just a little bit faster, almost seeing the other side knowing you have to prepare for what lies ahead. You have to be ready to react with instinct. The air smells metallic and then you get hit. But you know if you stop, your dead, so you keep pushing hoping to make it to that line.

 It is easy to kick in to instinct, but it is harder when the damage hits you. It stays with you and changes you from the inside out little by little each day till all you know is how to survive and keep fighting. But then the sun comes out and shines a small light reflecting off the top of another mans helmet. You aim your gun. There is a moment when this happens, but it is so fast sometimes people never feel it. Remorse knowing that what you have to do is to tackle a problem and take it down. But it is a decision you do not want to make. The bullets flying around you remind you the fight still is not over. If you want to go home and see your family, you have to go on. So, you aim and take a life. From there you still have to keep fighting. A never-ending fight to the finish line of life.

See, dear readers war can teach you a lot of things. How to stand strong in a moment of difficult obstacles. It teaches discipline and how to fight for what you believe in. It teaches compassion but also understanding in the way the world works. But it also teaches us how a soul can be scared for life. War is horrible, it is not an answer to issues or problems. Sometimes the best we can do in this life is to be able to understand the people around us, why they are who they are. It is not easy watching another person suffer, honestly, it really sucks. But do not beat another person down while they are already in the dirt, you are just at fault for being the one that pointed the gun in the first place, and each of you have to live with it. I teach about kindness and used this example because I see the world is hurting. I see people are suffering and instead of causing more of the problem we all need to come together and settle our differences to create a better future. It is defiantly not easy. I am not saying life is going to change overnight, but do not add to the trouble and suffering.

Each and every person in this world has a right to the pursuit of happiness. Each person in this world has a right to speak freely and openly without being shunned or belittled. Each person in this world has the same value as the other. Be kind to one another often times problems can be managed with some communication, listening, and understanding. But it takes challenging work to put that in motion. To be a good leader in your life and to be a good leader in others sometimes takes sacrifice. The kind that is not easy, the kind just like a soldier, creates a big wound inside you. But you, my beautiful reader, have the potential to be the sun in that weary battlefield so be that, be the Hope. I know that life seems like No Mans Land, but I promise you we can get to that line.

Always,

-56