HEART, THE MEASURE OF a soldier

As the sun rises and the alarm buzzes loud enough to wake the dead, you begin to waken and crawl out of bed. Your room is cold, you complain because the coffee has not been started, and more or less you are disappointed that you must drag yourself to work one more day before the work week is over. It appears that every day may start this way as it seems that nothing is as "fun" as high school or college used to be. Now you have been pushed out into the big, bold and free world you live in to become a part of the larger group of workers, either blue- or white-collar that feel like they will spend the next 40+ years grudgingly going to work for the sake of the almighty dollar!

That very dollar is prized ever since you spent a few summers earning very little of them only to find yourself spending the "washingtons" on things that appeared to be great luxuries to you – the prized sneakers (in my days those were converse or Nike high-tops) or the Starbucks we have come to believe we cannot rise from bed and enter the workplace without, the options to drive through the closest fast-food window for the quick breakfast, or the lazy days of summer you long for on some secluded beach where you can drink away the worries from the job? Oh the time of being young and carefree about our choices.

Fast forward 10 years and now you are spending your days struggling to get to work each day, but none-the-less you still wake to many wonderful luxuries that as you keep receiving in direct proportion to the annual raises or bonuses you acquire from work. We spend our lives working for the next big thing that life seems to deem valuable, mostly material. Now that you have that great job, and you have become valued and worthy at work, would you be willing to let it all go and work for minimum wage again? Is that house you have purchased really what makes you ultimately happy, the one that keeps you in the yard mowing and raking to perfection, like the Scott's fertilizer commercials? Do you really need that big SUV to take your family on outings that seem like the trip from hell because everyone wants something now and there is not a convenience store in sight?

Keep this picture in mind while the next one that appears will paint a new view for you that will shed some light on exactly why you have the opportunity to afford those "treasures" that seem to keep you heading off to work.   Your little piece of the American Dream keeps you going, even when the job is less than satisfying or the boss rides you constantly to make his life easier and yours more miserable.

When was the last time you said you would stand and take the ranting of your boss only to make $10.00 an hour? When was the last time you longed for a tasty meal at your favorite restaurant but never having the time to get it? How often have you waited for a note from a dear friend in the mail? When was the last time you stood in line at Starbucks for that ultimate cup of coffee and had to wait longer than you wanted, and you steamed more than the milk after you received it? When was the last time you actually sat and remembered the reasons why you have those opportunities that elude you and are simply unattainable for a brief moment until you rage loud enough to get what you want? Does it ever cross your mind that you actually have them because of those who choose to work for less, give up the modern comforts, and choose to give their lives if necessary for the sake of those opportunities, all without ever questioning it or complaining?

The holiday season is behind us all, and the next phase of the year seems to be overcoming the mountain of excess.  This mountain, either your own personal one from the frantic pace of preparing for 25 December, or that of the state or nation trying desperately to alter the course of the economic meltdown of the late 2008.  Is Christmas the time when people are more giving than most times in the year?  It is easy to feel compelled to help at Christmas more than usual; what about the rest of the year?  We have all heard the statement that Christmas should be all year long.  This philosophy is applicable to supporting those who serve in the name of freedom, and not without a price.  Showing patriotic support should be a daily occurrence, just like their time on foreign soil.