All I ever needed to know in life, I am learning training to be an Officer in the Marine Corps.
Rule No. 1 “There’s no crying in baseball!”
Look life is tough, really tough, some days it seems as though the bottom is darker than ever and there is no such thing as light, it hurts in ways you never thought it was possible to hurt, and its harder than we ever imagined it could be, do me a favor, suck it up! Most things worth doing in our lives are difficult, they force us to stare our human weakness in the face, spit in their face and rip off the band-aid. As Americans who suffer little the extremities of life in deep physical turmoil we are left untested, we desire the comforts of life and when we are tested it takes every fiber of our moral beings just to face it. Life is meant to be enjoyed but it’s also meant to be lived each day to the fullest so as to know the greater joys, the joy most of all of sacrifice. This trial, this test of sacrifice requires complete denial of self for the greater good total dedication to protect the things you love regardless of personal cost.
Rule No. 2 “Moment by Moment!”
Often I freak myself out by focusing on the future or the past, instead of taking captive every moment and using it for the big picture. Yesterday I had the pleasure of talking to a Catholic priest, who came to my dad’s shop to get a custom stock made for sport shooting, and he said most often he has to remind people the focusing on the past causes shame, and focusing on the future causes fear, but living in this moment [which is all we really have] is freedom in God’s grace to do God’s will. Everyday of this journey for me has been filled with one struggle or another, my knee pain which started 6 years ago (almost crippling me over in pain at times–now completely gone), weight loss (which proved harder than ever to do–now down 20 lbs. and dropping), building arm strength which I’ve never had (now able to do pull-ups with less weight assistance than ever in my life), each new hurdle and challenge cause me to focus on that one thing, while balancing life, to the fullest, and that has caused a joy and freedom I’ve not know until this point. I’m learning and I will continue to learn (as I face challenges like the one above) that all I have to do right now is get through this mud puddle because a moment only lasts a little while, failure and success forever.
Rule No. 3 “It’s Not About Me!”
One thing that I’ve experienced in this short time of training is that when you do well, there is no lack of congratulations and support from your fellow service members or recruiters. Each step of the way, though there hasn’t been a you can do it attitude of back slapping, but when something has been well done, there is a gulf of praise. This happens SELDOM in the civilian sector, there is a good job sometimes when you don’t work for a boss with a chip on their shoulder, but in the military (so far) everyone has been supportive in my personal success in ways I’ve never experienced and that support and that camaraderie has pushed me to make greater sacrifices and work harder than I have in my life to reach this goal. It’s not about my success or their successes it’s about the team as a whole being as strong as humanly possible and when that person adds strength to the team and makes the team stronger as a whole, we all get better. This also differs in the civilian sector, when someone is stronger, because we are so individualistic there is jealousy and comparison and frustration, not a realization that if they are strong, we are all stronger!
So, as I continue to go through my Pre-OCS phase of being an Officer Candidate for the USMC, I’ll keep you posted. I have not posted much lately because I’ve been so involved and focused on this I feel I have little to add to my “classic disposition” art blog. But this is my journey of being a “Classic” which to me includes being a strong-willed and determined woman in whichever way life asks them to go! Oh, and if you want to see what current Officer Candidates are doing in OCS, click on this link: Future Marines Currently in OCS It’s a great way to see what these men and women go through!
