RE: The Reconciliation - A Veteran Story
fucking beautiful man! Once again, tears rolling down my face as I re-lived some of my experience through your writings..
It's nice to know that you found some healing through friendship of an unlikely source. It is truly amazing how the universe works shit out sometimes. I know these experiences are hard but to continue suffering from them does no one any good. So when I am struggling with my negative thoughts from war or the nightmares, I try to assess the situation to see if there is something I am suppose to learn from it instead of blocking it out like i use to (usually with drugs or alcohol). I think our minds know the events we have to work through so it pushes those thoughts to the surface. We have so many issues in life because we try to fight those thoughts instead of working through them.
If I've learned anything about this hard veteran life is: the more you run from your past, the more it bites you in the ass.. I hate what I did while I was in war but I love who I am now... without those experience I would never be the person I am today, so I accept my past but refuse to dwell in it anymore! Be proud of who you are and embrace the hardships in your life, because they are what define you as a person..
Thanks for the amazing article my brother!
Wow, I must have missed all the comments on this post. Thank you so much for reading the story and for commenting on it! I'm so glad that other veterans can connect with my words. As i have stated before, my posts regarding veterans are made with two reasons in mind, to help non-veterans try to understand where we are coming from, and also to help our fellow veterans know that they are not alone in their struggles, that there are so many of us who have gone through the same thing and are going through similar struggles in life.
This is so true! There is a reason these thoughts and feeling surface, they are meant to be confronted and dealt with, not pushed back down and suppressed. I guess a lot of times the problem happens when we keep on trying to repress these feelings and thoughts instead of finding a healthy outlet for them.
Without the things I experienced while I was in, I would not be the man I am today, so I definitely understand what you mean. It's unfortunate that we had to go through all the things that we went through, but perhaps in some weird roundabout way, they happened in order to shape us into the men we are supposed to become, who are better equipped to help others deal with similar things.
Thank you again for your comment, brother! I really appreciate it.