As a veteran who witnessed the countless atrocities of walking through the streets of Haiti, riding in the back of wide-open Humvees as an M60 RTO during the invasion without armor, and watching the disgusting shit unfold every night in the guard towers, I am now in a state of mind where I say “Peace” instead of “I love you.”
Peace is the opposite of hypervigilance. Hypervigilance is a beast that will not take a day off. Peace counters the effects found in mindfulness meditation.
You see, peace is something valuable in the mind of a combat veteran. The horror of humanity in the third world never goes away.
This is the price we pay for answering the call of duty despite whatever combat crises we face.
I am sick and tired of campaign discrimination and conflict amongst veterans.
The war at the VFW and Legion wages on while commanders like POST 501 in Madison, Wis. tell combat veterans to “grow some thick skin” instead of working with them.
Veterans are at war with each other at home.
I do not buy into the hype of your war being greater than mine. You do not deserve respect if you create conflict for serving in conflict.
The trials of witnessing the dark psychology of third world behavior only allows for revisiting the scene during night storms. Those who serve in conflicts all have this in common.
This does not warrant you cutting in front of me in line for mental health treatment at the VA because your war is classified as a priority for triage in reflection of mine.
No veteran should deal with the decisions of a bureaucrat-in-chief and their failure as a leader.
Oftentimes, I purposely fall asleep on the couch without my CPAP so I don’t have to hit the third stage of REM. Peace is the quieting of the lower self that only the higher self can provide.
If you are struggling with cultivating peace, and want to check out, don’t. Manifest peace by speaking peace into existence.
War is easy. War is human nature. Peace is a virtue. If you want peace, you have to work for it.