I am home alone, and as I turned my phone to silent and closed my laptop for the 2 minute silence one thought kept going through my brain, and it has been there since the silence ended.
I am lucky.
We go to remembrance services, we sit quietly and remember those who fought and died. I do this, I have done it since I was a child and I will continue to do so, but I really have no comprehension of what it must have been like. I am a generation removed from the stories of grandparents. And although I remember everything we were taught in school, I cannot truly imagine the horrors. And for that I am very, very grateful.
I am blessed. Because of others who died, I am unable to comprehend the fear and loss people suffered. Because of their sacrifice I am able to sit in my living room and freely type this onto my laptop. Because of our country's freedom I am able to send my children to school safely, to learn compassion, values and the ability to choose the right path. I am blessed.
Life has been a bit stressful recently and it is easy to focus on the negatives, but sitting here today I realised that my stresses are a blessing. They mean I am free to choose, free to live and free to go through life focusing on my family. And that is what I remember. I remember the people who gave up those freedoms.
And no matter how little I can comprehend of the horrors of those wars (and wars around the world) I must ensure that that blessing is never forgotten. As the title says "Lest we Forget".
Which reminds me of something I saw on Facebook "I am too blessed to be stressed" which although a fabulous sentiment really is almost impossible to keep as a mantra. So perhaps better and one I can focus on is "I am blessed because I am stressed"
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