Fear

I faced my first kidney stone at 33 and the pain of the first stone, left a fear that for the next five stones had me rushing to the emergency room begging for morphine to escape the pain and fear.  My Army tour in Europe I served with a Military Police Company at a time of heavy drug use.  One early morning duty I faced a soldier tripping out on LSD, and threatening others with his combat knife.  As I worked to talk him down, he attacked and as fear washed over me, I reacted as I had been trained, waiting for his lunge, grabbed his wrist and disarmed him.  That day my fear brought out the best of who I was.

This past week my work life has been a challenge accompanied by a mix of emotions laced with fear making sleep impossible.  There have been days I’ve wanted to escape the fear, and other days it has brought out the best in me.  This morning as I rode across the bayou bridge, the full moon greeted me and reminded me that today is a new day to step up and be the best of who I am.