"Sack lunch for a solidier"

This has a powerful "Pay it forward" message. ENJOY!!

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight.. I'm glad I have a good book to read, perhaps I will get a short nap, I thought. Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me. Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan.
After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time. As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base, his friend agreed. I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.' Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?' 'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. This is your thanks. After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.
Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand..' Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers. Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm. When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!
Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You. Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little...
A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, The United States of America for an amount of and up to and including my life. That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.

F.E.A.R.

FEAR= Frustration, Ego, Anger and Resentment.

I read that & had to blog about this subject, because to me this is something that so many of us deal with but yet are in denial about. Why is that? Well for me it is because all my life I have been put in or put myself in situations that cause me to be the strong one, the one that everyone can count on to be upbeat & positive. The one to always be able to hold it together no matter what is going on. When the truth of the matter is I was acting out of fear!!

Afraid that if I did not act on these situations, that people would not like me or that people would fall apart if they did not have a go to person in their life. And really what was I thinking? That I am all knowing & all powerful that if "I" did not help them their lives would fall apart. Come on now if that is not a EGO then I don't know what is. When in all reality I needed them to help me believe I was going to be ok!

It was once explained to me that there are healthy fears & unhealthy fears we need to pay attention to. For example a healthy fear is crossing a busy intersection & afraid you might get hit by an automobile. An unhealthy fear is thinking someone is going to screw you over & they have done nothing wrong. The latter of these WILL come to pass as long as we are looking for it to; its called self-sabotage. And that is just as unhealthy as living a fear driven life.

My problem was that I never thought I was as worthy of receiving the same love & support as I gave to others. I always held on to the idea that my life was not as bad as everyone else's. And to some extent that was true. What is not true, is that I did not deserve the same that I gave. We are all deserving children of God, we all deserve good things & to be treated with love & respect. But we must demand it from others. Now I'm not saying to go up to someone & start shaking them demanding respect & love. What I am saying is to dig deep in your self & find some self respect & self love. Because the bottom line is how can you demand something you don't believe to be of yourself to begin with?!

This will relieve a lot of the anxiety & resentment that can come from false expectations of another. And trust me it is alot less frustrating when we allow people to just be who they are. Remember that we are ALL works in progress & that it took us this many years to become the way we are & it will take you that amount of time or more to be the person you want to be. Talk to yourself in the mirror as you would a dear friend or family member that was going through the same thing. Be good to yourself, love yourself & most importantly respect yourself!!

As I close please remember the men & woman of all branches of military as they fight for our Healthy Freedoms here at home. That they may have a save return someday soon.

Good night & God bless!!