Positivity goes a long way
‘Starting my day with a frown seems to set the tone in a direction that just brings me down.’-1st Lt. Jock Johnson
The longer I am in Iraq, the more I am reminded of a story I first read in one of those sappy e-mails. You know the type; the ones that make a sentimental statement that make us all feel good by adopting that fuzzy story which somehow, by itself, will change the world. It is usually followed with ‘Please send this to your closest 500 friends in 10 minutes or you will suffer seven years’ bad luck and will be destined to sip strained soup through a straw’ or some such statement.
The story actually originated in “Chicken Soup for the Soul” and was written by John W. Schlatter. It goes as follows:
‘Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he was carrying along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove, and a small tape recorder. Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry the burden.
‘As they walked, Mark discovered the boy’s name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball, and history, that he was having a lot of trouble with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend. They arrived at Bill’s home first, and Mark was invited in for a soda and to watch some TV. The afternoon passed pleasantly with a few laughs and some shared small talk, then Mark went home.
‘They continued to see each other around school and had lunch together once or twice. They ended up at the same high school where they had brief contacts over the years.
Finally, the long-awaited senior year came, and three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk. Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first met.
“Do you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things from school that day?” Bill asked. “You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn’t want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mother’s pills, and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together I realized that if I had, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books for me that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life.”’
Is this a sentimental story? Yes. Does it have meaning for us? Yes. The Army is all about Soldier resiliency, but how do we see that on a personal level? I know that on a personal level, just accentuating the positive with a ‘hello’ and smile in the morning makes a difference to me. Starting my day with a frown seems to set the tone in a direction that just brings me down.
I think one of the things deployments does is grind at you. Let me explain. You’re away from your family and friends, you may or may not have a CHU-mate that agrees with you, and the work load can either be a 24/7 frenzy or monotonous boredom. One minute you may be relaxing and the next diving for cover because of indirect fire.
In this constantly stressful environment, I am amazed at how well everyone does, but it does grind at you. Now add the little things. You know, they really are irritants, not major issues or life-shattering by themselves, but combined with everything else, they are hard to deal with. You have the potential to change all of that by the way you act and by wearing a friendly smile.
Before you go, however, let me give you the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would say. The story was real but the names were changed to protect the innocent. The author John Wayne Schlatter, sometime after he wrote the story, commented on some words of praise a fan gave him about the story. He said: ‘“I wrote ‘The Simple Gesture for Chicken Soup For The Soul Vol.1.’ I feel complimented that you put in on the Internet in an effort to help other people. You might like to know the whole story.
‘The two boys met in 1973 at Oak Jr. High where I was teaching. They remained very close friends and were the best man in each other’s weddings.
When I met them they were my students, they became my friends and eventually we grew into a brotherhood. I spoke at both of their weddings. One is a minister and the other is a highly successful businessman. They have come through many storms and their friendship has helped them sail to safe ports.”’
Who knows about a simple act of kindness; it may just last a lifetime or can save a lifetime that was about to end.
1st Lt. Jock Johnson
3-116 Cav. Regt. Chaplain
Stumble It!
