THE CALLING

Over the course of the last few years I have reflected on why I made specific decisions in my life that in one of my previous postings I describe as life altering. In particular I have considered those decisions that took me into professions resulting in me and in many cases my wife subjecting ourselves to the dangers, uncertainties, stress, prolonged absences from family and many other difficulties associated with living in foreign environments.

As best I can describe it, those decisions are due to a "calling". This term is, I think most often associated with religion and the service to the various churches/religions.

The implication is God has called one to serve in some field or manner.
I am not particularly religious and do not think this is the case. I do believe most if not all people have a "calling" based on 1. the individuals basic physical (genetic) mental make-up and 2. some ideas to which the person has been subjected in early life. For example I was born in the middle of World War II and my early life was filled with news and movies of war and soldiers plus my contact with the veterans. There was, therefore, never a time that I did not feel I was destine to be a Soldier. When the opportunity presented itself I answered that "calling".

Another "calling" was the urge to travel and see more of the world - hopefully with some good purpose. The travels to Southeast Asia and Europe as a soldier greatly enhanced this desire. After the kids were grown and had jobs, opportunity to fulfill this desire knocked and again I answered the call. This resulted in over 8 years in the middle east.

I believe that opportunities are constantly knocking on our doors but most people are too lazy or fearful to get up off the comfort of the couch and answer the door.

A friend of mine since high school who has also, and in fact, even more so faced the dangers and problems associated with leaving our comfortable little small town and answering his "calling" had this to say on the matter.

" I reflect back on the high school days when our travels had yet to begin -- some only distant dreams, some probably had no dreams --- some had a stirring which they were trying to develop to see what the calling was--for some -- what ever it was certainly was not around Oxford AL--- they had to go a bit further to find what was calling... some heard the call but never went....we have now traveled to where we can look back to see where we've been....but really can't see where we are going..."

I do not know if my buddy or I served any higher purpose in our travels or jobs but we were a tiny part of History, we placed ourselves in "harms way" on occasion, we did what we thought was right when most of the folks back home thought we were nuts (the Military and Foreign Service are full of our kind) and we faced a great deal of frustration in our travels.

Once a traveler returns to the States it is difficult to find someone to talk with that has any idea what you are talking about. They have not had the experiences or faced the same difficulties so they will listen and look at you with blank eyes. They have never heard the sound of artillery, B-52 near bomb runs, incoming rocket alarms or seen machine gun tracers going over their heads. They have never traveled in an armored personnel carrier through German forests or in an armored SUV through Gaza or the West Bank with body guards. They have never been through family evacuations due to eminent attack, never slept in a hole in the ground, eaten breakfast (if lucky enough to have it) in a pouring cold rain with no shelter or woke up in the morning on the ground covered in snow with your rifle frozen to the ground. Never have they heard missile intercept missiles roar over the building you are in and hear the contact explosions in the distance. There are a thousand such things that have molded the lives of many of us travelers that have never touched our relatives and friends in the States.

All in all I think the person that answers his or her "callings" is better off for it, even with the dangers and difficulties. Now that I am in the declining years of my life and will probably never be a player again, I can look back and feel little if any regret for not having done something with my life that I really wanted.