It is interesting to note the descriptions we use to identify individuals. I hear them as a coded signal of what one individual has identified as primary in her or his life. A friend responded to my inquiry if he knew an individual I had just met. “You seem to like working with military men.”
Until the observation, I rarely thought about it. As I decoded the “military” description, I found myself thinking through the premise of what was primary. While I do not think the broad description and premise fits everyone who has served in the military, there was a resonating truth in the conversations and actions of these individuals which is echoed in the simple label.
I wonder what description fits the primary values and priorities of my life? I know what I would like them to be.
A life with intense purpose. In the why, how, and what of my life, may each moment, decision, and action be filled with intensity and purpose. It would need to be seen and felt through my activities and choices. It would need to be visible in the stands I takes and sides I choose in a battle for hearts or minds.
A life guided by compassion, empathy, and inclusion. I grew up as a minority in the country and city I lived in. Even with the opportunities, I appreciate the battles others have and do face which make my life seem easy. Even in illness, there is, in the bed next to mine as my blood is removed, a sister or brother trying to deal with an unimaginable uncertainty, and painful struggle to survive and live on.
A life which changed and grew because of love, relationships, and learning. Life and the individuals around me are my greatest teachers and mentors. May I always hear, learn, and put the lessons into practice.
If I had to sum it all up, I would hope the psalmist’s description of Divinity; “Thank the Lord of all lords. His love never quits,” (Psalm 136.3) echoes in another’s of my own.
