“Never forget your why,” he said to me.
We were standing at the ‘bow’ of the USS Arizona Memorial, a super class of battleship once considered unsinkable. We watched as its remaining oil bubbled and spilled into the surrounding waters, a reminder of the 1,177 lives lost that day.
“Never forget why,” he said, once again. It was the first time I’d ever seen my father cry.
Though his words were hushed, the message was clear. I could hear the unfolding of emotion in his voice, over 50 years worth of ‘memories’ – images of the war-torn European battlefield.
I’d always wondered how my father survived. When we think of the battlefield, we see images from the movies — Hollywood’s interpretation of what the solider experienced. Though, the truth is — the weather conditions were brutal, at best; soldiers continuously forged through waist deep snow and sub-zero conditions. And, the supply lines were never intact — some might fight for days without a scrap of food.
I’d always wondered, but knew to never ask — as those images were the ones that pierced the night.
In life, we must always have a reason and purpose, my loves; some innermost validation that reconciles breath with the challenges of moment.
It’s that why which will shepherd heart through even the darkest of night.
“Life belongs to the living,” writes Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. “and he who lives must be prepared for changes.”
It is the primary core of our existence, this belief — and a catalyst for that which lends context to purpose.
So often, we view our world through the shards of broken moments. In doing so, we fail to appreciate that much fuller view.
We all have difficult days, my loves. Though, when we hold our ‘why’ close, nothing is impossible.
So, darlings if I may be so bold to ask — please tell me, what is your ‘why’ today?
For me? My ‘why’ always carries me here.
In peace…
Namaste ❤️
