I met Dan right as I was retiring. He and I were both assigned to different units on Fort George Meade, Maryland. Dan is an equal parts fitness enthusiast, beer advocate, and amazing father to his adorable and equally fit daughter. This poem was written from the prompt: Compassion Is???

When your world falls apart

Opportunity descends upon you with all of the hope

This is your chance to rise higher

To glide above the wreckage

To change your course

To finally do what you've always wanted

That is unless you keep reaching out for those shattered pieces

Unless you keep believing the lies

Unless you keep staring into the crater of what was

So please, STOP!

Things fall apart

Dreams die

Bridges burn

...for a reason!

Acknowledge the losses,

Learn from the failures,

Forgive, then let it go

Because only then

Will you have room for the new things

The beautiful things

The intended things

Our pain is perfect...

Love the destruction

Cherish the torment

I know…

It can be unbearable

It’s numbing

Don’t lose any more sleep

Stop resisting it

Struggle and fight no more

It just wasn’t meant to be

But, it doesn't have to be so excruciating

This chaos is shaping you into something stronger

Soon...

A blossom from the misery

Beaming with confidence

Possibility

Happiness

What is in the soil that makes this bud open so bright?

Our sorrow...

Because suffering is the perfect fertilizer for our soul

In order to grow, our soul needs to be watered by mistakes

Encouraged by failure

Nurtured by despair

Cultivated by forgiveness

Be grateful for heartbreak

Be Indebted to hardship

Because pain opens our eyes

Suffering opens our hearts

And sorrow opens our souls

Now, you can finally do exactly what you've always wanted

-The Estranged Warrior