As Associate Director of The Men’s Center of Los Angeles, and in affiliation with our Sacred Path Retreats and other services, I was asked to attend an event that proved to be profoundly moving and worthy of the attention of all who read our newsletter, attend our events and are interested in being a part of conscious intention to be informed and a part of making this a better world.
I recently attended a three-day conference by The Soldier’s Project called Hidden Wounds Of War. This organization, which was established to provide free, confidential psychological counseling for military service members and their families, is one of a growing number of organizations and groups of citizens who are dedicating their time and resources to aid and comfort our armed forces and their loved ones. We are in a time of protracted conflicts in the world and this outreach is of particular importance in this time in our history. With wars continuing in Iraq and Afghanistan and hot spots throughout the world, our armed forces are serving with ultimate commitments of mind, body and spirit, often literally sacrificing life and limb for reasons that are personal and meaningful to them and their families and in service to our country.
Whatever one’s political or philosophical point of view toward our involvement as a nation in these struggles, these dedicated people are in need of understanding, services and support from the rest of us. As an organization, we take the position of compassionate caring for our fellow human beings who come from our towns and cities, as neighbors, friends or loved ones. As both staff and participants in our services and events, we are individuals with varying points of view toward all manner of life choices, as it should be in a democracy. Whatever our differing views, there are a great number of Americans who are sensitized to the demands of war and the challenges of our returning veterans and their families, all fellow citizens. In truth, there are a great many Americans, who, for their own reasons, are or have become desensitized to the difficult challenges of our servicemen and women and their families, especially upon returning home to a society that is thousands of miles from the battlefronts. Certainly, we all grow tired of war. What we cannot do is be other than tireless in our dedication to our fellow citizens who have sacrificed so much, and on a voluntary basis.
I was stunned by the magnitude of serious issues this population encounters before, during and post-battlefield. The horrors of war were chronicled during the conference in ways that brought tears to our eyes and a determination to help in any way we could. Warfare has never been child’s play, and modern warfare is by no means an exception. New technologies, defense systems and weaponry serve as affective tools for those who use them and killing fields for those who are subjected to them.
The physical and emotional damage to our troops and their families can’t be overstated. Regardless of what set of statistics are used or believed, thousands of our citizens are dying or returning home with everything from minimal to devastating injuries and trauma to mind, body and spirit. Families have been split apart, parents have had to work, raise children and deal with life issues away from their serving spouses, both men and women. It became clear to those of us in attendance that despite efforts by our government agencies, private organizations and dedicated individuals, our military community needs more help than is currently available. We honor The Soldier’s Project for bringing much needed attention to the medical, psychiatric and psychological communities whose purpose for being is to be of service to our fellow human beings and citizens.
A core group of men associated with The Men’s Center and Sacred Path have stepped forward to answer the call in any way we can. Whether it is by bringing veterans to our Sacred Path Retreats in loving support of their needs and to help facilitate their re-entry into mainstream society, to show them a hell of a good time or by simply co-mingling with those of us in the civilian population or through our counseling services with licensed psychotherapists, we want to help. If you know of a way to help or have ideas we haven’t yet thought about or might not occur to us, please contact us. While our services and contribution are intended to be pro bono, we welcome body, soul and financial support for this developing project.
Our initial group of interested lay and clinical advocates will be meeting to discuss and develop an approach that can make a contribution to this much-deserving population among us. We know it will be challenging. We know we all need further training and skill sets. Our hope is that by bringing our high intention to the attention of all of you who will read this and/or are interested in the work we do together, the core group will grow in size, strength and determination. As we are one world, we are one nation, one community, one individual after another who cares and wants to be a part of something decent and honorable. I believe anyone reading this is drawn to our organization, our web-site or our events because they are curious at least, and committed at most, to raising consciousness on the planet and being a part of the solution rather than the problems in our world. That’s why The Men’s Center and Sacred Path exist. This is our next challenge.
We welcome your thoughts, your reflections, your feedback, your knowledge, and your participation in helping us help ourselves and help others. This holds true not only for our fellow Californians, but any of you interested from other parts of the country as servicemen and women or civilians. This is a worthy and much needed cause. As the Marines would tell us, a few good men and women go a long way. The more of us who join the civilian ranks and serve our world, our country and our community, the greater the results and rewards not just for our military families but for ourselves. This is a different kind of call to arms. It is a call to arms that embraces us all as one nation, caring for each other, all in service, one way or another.
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