Running Away From Saigon
Thursday, February 11th, 2010 by Mark | Posted in Unconventional Thinking | Comments
When I was a young man, I was asked to fight in Viet Nam. I wasn’t afraid and I didn’t have any life plans that would get in the way. But I didn’t believe in the war and so I was at a crossroads.
But I took the two subway tokens the Army sent me, reported to Ft. Hamilton in Brooklyn, went through my physical, prepared to fly into the war zone.
Why would I submit to a process I didn’t believe in? Why would I agree to go to a war I believed was not only contrary to my beloved country’s best interests, but was being “fought” in a half-baked way that could not result in victory?
There is no way I can defend any of this on moral grounds. I was 19 or so and hardly thought much about morality. I took the subway to the military because I didn’t want to run away from Saigon. (In the end, I didn’t have to go.)
One of the best things, perhaps THE best thing, my father taught me was not to run from anything. Life has taught me that he was right, for two major reasons:
1. Running becomes a habit. Those who run, run. Those who hold their ground, move ultimately, to a higher ground.
2. When you run in fear, you lose your perspective. You make poor decisions. You look only for the exit doors when,
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February 12th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
“Do it anyway” is how I remember it being told to me. “Face your fear and the fear will disappear.” Oh, you might still have problems to deal with, but the fear will be gone. In it’s place you find a power that can lift you to new heights. Until you face and lose the fear, you’ll continue to bump into it – in every seemingly disconnected path in your life. Great reminder today Mark!