10. Perspective: The Reality Check of What’s Really Important
You would be amazed at the little things people get worked up about sometimes.
Military men and women aren’t immune, of course. You’ll get the guy who starts a fight because someone tore a card from his lucky deck, or whatever.
But for the most part, service in the military — and especially in combat — is a pretty sharp reality check. It’s hard to get worked up after the little stuff once you’ve had your first near-death experience. Even just seeing combat wounds or damage second-hand can be enough to remind a soldier how fragile everyone is.
It’s not just limited to combat experiences or losses, either. Traveling to different countries and seeing ways of life that are so radically different (and often so much worse) than mainstream American life has a way of stripping away all the stuff that doesn’t matter and reminding you of the big human needs.
Your life, your health, your friends and your family — those are things worth caring about. And they’re things that veterans tend to have a healthy respect for, if only because they’ve seen it torn away from other people.
Hang onto that perspective, if you’ve acquired it. It makes you a better, stronger person, and it’s also a comfort to have when you’re dealing with a lousy job or a bunch of low-level frustrations in day-to-day life.
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