wrbones
09-02-02, 01:13 AM
I'm in the middle of some pretty difficult changes myself. We all have them. For a time, they effect us each emotionally. We all react similiarly, yet in different ways at different times. Loss is what it's all about usually. We lose jobs, we give up careers, we give up dreams. We lose function as we get older. We lose friends and fellow Marines and family members. Part of the job, part of living, but we all resent it and feel the pain. That sort of pain never really goes away, but we learn to live with it. It gets better.
It is the initial reaction that we must learn to see and to deal with properly. Sometimes, even knowing these things, we need assistance. Someone to listen. Someone to be there. Someone to point things out to us when we're not seeing things clearly. Sometimes we blame others, or more often ourselves. Usually thinking to ourselves that there was more that we could have done to prevent whatever it was. Many things come forth in such a time, our weakness, our strengths, our fears. Our friends.
For me there is much that I have refused to face in the last few years. I have fought and struggled and gone on no matter what. Often in the face of odds that seem incredible when considered objectively. So have many others. Lately, I have had to "give in" to the inevitable. So begins my story with the VA. More frustration and loss. Loss of dignity, a loss of freedom because I cannot do what once was easy for me. A loss of privacy as some things the Docs need to hear no matter what I think or feel. It's only fair. They need information in order to have an expectation of doing their jobs properly. Some of this loss has bled over into my posts and interactions with others here. One of these "bleed overs" has been my low self esteem. No matter what I have accomplished, or done, or been at the center of... or learned over the years, it has been my constant plague. Something I often struggle with daily. I know that others have such things or worse that they deal with daily. I know from experience that I am not alone.
This is where I start listing a few of my strengths.
I can often discern when another person is going through something like this. I'm no better or worse than the next at such discernment. Being of predatory nature, we are all somewhat good at this. It is my nature to want to assist those in such need. One of my strengths is to see and unravel a pattern in things around me. Around here, I'm not alone in this. I can do a variety of things and do most of them well. From singing an old spiritual song to cooking a gormet meal, to changing a diaper to stitching a wound and setting a broken bone. I can build a house, drive nearly anything on wheels, and do more with fewer people and resources than many could imagine doing. There is much more that I do well, but I am not alone in this. There are many around here who do as well and possibly better. I know my strengths. I am aware of my weaknesses. Once in awhile, I even think I know where my "blind spots" are. LOL.
For those of you who do not know me well. Others here can tell you that I am not weak. I will take you on if I think you have wronged others. If your thinking isn't straight, I'll get ya sorted out there, too. Be sure of it! LOL. I expect you to do the same for me.
Just so you know. I'm nobody special. I'm just another MArine. Far from being a statement of weakness, that is high praise indeed. I absolutely know my strengths. Therefore I have a good idea of the strengths of the Marines around me. If I can do anything at all, I know that I do it well. If I am just another Marine, I believe that speaks well of all Marines, because I know I'm good at whatever I do. I don't like braggin'. Others have done more and often better than I. I say that in admiration, not in denigration of my own strengths or accomplishments.
My six is covered boys, make sure the other Marines around here are ok first!
Semper Fidelis, Marines.
It is the initial reaction that we must learn to see and to deal with properly. Sometimes, even knowing these things, we need assistance. Someone to listen. Someone to be there. Someone to point things out to us when we're not seeing things clearly. Sometimes we blame others, or more often ourselves. Usually thinking to ourselves that there was more that we could have done to prevent whatever it was. Many things come forth in such a time, our weakness, our strengths, our fears. Our friends.
For me there is much that I have refused to face in the last few years. I have fought and struggled and gone on no matter what. Often in the face of odds that seem incredible when considered objectively. So have many others. Lately, I have had to "give in" to the inevitable. So begins my story with the VA. More frustration and loss. Loss of dignity, a loss of freedom because I cannot do what once was easy for me. A loss of privacy as some things the Docs need to hear no matter what I think or feel. It's only fair. They need information in order to have an expectation of doing their jobs properly. Some of this loss has bled over into my posts and interactions with others here. One of these "bleed overs" has been my low self esteem. No matter what I have accomplished, or done, or been at the center of... or learned over the years, it has been my constant plague. Something I often struggle with daily. I know that others have such things or worse that they deal with daily. I know from experience that I am not alone.
This is where I start listing a few of my strengths.
I can often discern when another person is going through something like this. I'm no better or worse than the next at such discernment. Being of predatory nature, we are all somewhat good at this. It is my nature to want to assist those in such need. One of my strengths is to see and unravel a pattern in things around me. Around here, I'm not alone in this. I can do a variety of things and do most of them well. From singing an old spiritual song to cooking a gormet meal, to changing a diaper to stitching a wound and setting a broken bone. I can build a house, drive nearly anything on wheels, and do more with fewer people and resources than many could imagine doing. There is much more that I do well, but I am not alone in this. There are many around here who do as well and possibly better. I know my strengths. I am aware of my weaknesses. Once in awhile, I even think I know where my "blind spots" are. LOL.
For those of you who do not know me well. Others here can tell you that I am not weak. I will take you on if I think you have wronged others. If your thinking isn't straight, I'll get ya sorted out there, too. Be sure of it! LOL. I expect you to do the same for me.
Just so you know. I'm nobody special. I'm just another MArine. Far from being a statement of weakness, that is high praise indeed. I absolutely know my strengths. Therefore I have a good idea of the strengths of the Marines around me. If I can do anything at all, I know that I do it well. If I am just another Marine, I believe that speaks well of all Marines, because I know I'm good at whatever I do. I don't like braggin'. Others have done more and often better than I. I say that in admiration, not in denigration of my own strengths or accomplishments.
My six is covered boys, make sure the other Marines around here are ok first!
Semper Fidelis, Marines.