Nothing stays the same. One does not even lay in a pit forever. This is a seminal moment in time. I left the Air Force December 29, 2017 to strike out on my own. Like living the nest or leaving the home to become a man. It may be hard to grasp that a man, a military officer can compare his journey to a boy leaving the home to enter into the big wide world, yet that is exactly what I am implying. The military is an environment of strict discipline. You are not yourself, you are the vessel the military shapes you into. They break you down, who you were, into an obedient soldier. When you do leave, you don’t really know who you are.
I knew ten years was enough. I spent the next 5 years following my heart and my mind. Playing professional rugby, starting a nonprofit, selling property, moving my sister to Seattle, surviving a pandemic, living through the biggest civil rights movement in history, shooting video blogs, making new friends. The experience I gained is invaluable. I started off naive. My car was stolen, I went nearly bankrupt, I was forced to move twice, relationships petered out, I took on odd jobs, I bit off more than I could chew. After this month, I am pushing the reset button.
I am going to spend some time back at my old kentucky home. Reset and return with the old zeal I once had. There is no one to blame, it’s no one’s fault. All that matters is where we go from here. I am okay with that. At 37 years alive, I feel grateful to be in the position I am. Are things perfect? No, yet the raw potential is there.
I am grateful for ten things: my health, my mindset, my opportunities, my family, my Heaven, my Hell, my two legs, my brain, the spring weather, my humor. What are you grateful for?
Eric M. Duechle