How do you carry the burdens you bear?
A friend of mine, burdened by the weight of war and the loss of the brothers he served alongside, was spurred into action by a simple question: “Who are you carrying?”
He has held that thought in his mind and heart for over a decade now. When others in the Veteran and military community are confronted with those four words, they pause and ponder those they’ve lost to war, both fighting abroad and fighting the wars within.
Recently, I’ve been pushed to go deeper and ask Veterans not only who are you carrying but how are you carrying that weight – the weight of a loss, of a circumstance, of an experience, of a responsibility, of another?
That singular word – how – has stopped several Veterans in their tracks. They pause, shaking their heads or gazing into the distance as they search for words that feel impossible to find. Eventually, some quietly share, “I’m not carrying it well.”
It’s easy to list the “what” of what we carry, but the “how” can make all the difference. Anyone who has had a bad grip or lifted with the wrong muscles knows that the how is key to success.
How is daily life corroded by invisible struggles?
How does one carry the things slowly breaking them down?
How does a burden pull them away from the present moment?
How do the boulders on their shoulders result in barely surviving instead of truly living?
For those who are willing to take stock and consider the how, I want to offer you this: Your struggle matters. Your story matters. Your life matters. YOU MATTER.
Right now, in this very moment, you can choose how you want to carry the burdens that you find yourself holding. We can’t control every outcome, but we can control our how. You can live a life of tenacity and make the brave decision to seek out help and community. You can find a way through the struggle, adjusting your grip and posture so that the load doesn’t consume you.
There will be uncertainty, heartache, disappointment and mystery. There will be celebrations and the status quo. And with each twist and turn, we can carry that weight well or we can carry it to our detriment.
We all have a choice to choose ourselves, our health and our healing. A choice to lay our burdens down and/or share the weight with another. I promise you this: one step, one phone call, one text in the right direction could offer the relief you are desperate for.
I will continue to ask and encourage you to do the same, for yourselves and for others: How are you carrying this one life you’ve been given? Because the most important who of who you are carrying – is yourself. The path of life is darkest when we choose to walk it alone. If you need someone to help with how you are carrying, our team at Boot Campaign is here because YOU MATTER.
Our YOU MATTER mission isn’t just for September; it’s for every month and moment of the year. So join us and live out this message each and every day to show others that they matter, too.
