All quiet on the western front

But around there is a war going on. A war of ego and humility. Comparison and acceptance. Anger and tolerance. Love and hate.

On our own, we cannot survive as much as we hate to admit. The war is won by the army and not the general. In the game of Risk, it's all about the numbers. The army wins the war.

Throughout my life, I have been an army of one. At my destruction, in my desperation, I found the rest of the battle. Men and women; strangers; offered me a hand out of the trenches and carried me to safety. They loved me and had never seen my face. They knew what I could accomplish without looking at my accomplishments. They knew this, and loved me from what they learned.

What they learned is that they believed becuase others believed. And the others that believed seemed content, and at peace. They, themselves, even in moments of war, knew contentment and peace. Even in war, which I had always envisioned as every man, woman, and child for themselves, they overcame chaos and complexity and repeated, "Take my hand, I'll show you this safe place I found."

What choice did I have but to follow them. They didn't appear as the enemy, and I was in the trench with two choices, insanity or death. In our moments of loss, we may make our greatest decisions. When we got to a safe place, they said,"You have arrived. You'll be safe here until you continue on with your journey. " I asked them, "You're leaving me?" They replied, "That man over there is in trenches, we go to help him, because someone pulled us out in the same manner. We'll be back again."

I sat quietly and looked back to where I came from. I realized many of the battles I fought weren't real. I realized I did have some real battles to overcome. The war is not over, but I have ceased fighting my battles, and I am walking out on the battlefield to find others in their trenches, so I can help them as they helped me. If I leave you, I may be in the trenches again. I may be on the battlefield helping others. Or maybe you are in the trenches and I can't find you.