“No Man Left Behind” is a slogan we often hear in association with the military or Hollywood action movies. It symbolizes the best characteristics of humanity - honor, courage, compassion and brotherly love, and it’s safe to say it’s an ideal supported by all. Yet, when it comes to applying it in day-to-day life, so many of us shy away when the moment for action comes.
All around us people are suffering. I don’t mean that as a euphemism or a metaphor. I see people every day in extraordinary pain - physical pain, mental pain, emotional pain. Anxiety and depression are on the rise, and everyone and their mother is taking some combination of pharmaceutical drugs. As a people, we are overwhelmed, overworked, brokenhearted and beaten down by life. I’ve spoken about this at length in several reflections, but it’s worth reiterating. In the world today, there are oceans upon oceans of pain.
In a culture that prizes financial success and creature comforts, we’ve lost sight of the true reason for greatness. The purpose of individual growth and success is not to hoard assets and resources for the self. It’s not to make a million dollars just to increase one’s savings account. It’s not to acquire more sex, more things, more status, or any sort of personal gain. The purpose of striving for greatness is to best serve others. Let me explain…
I don’t relentlessly train my body to have sex with women (even if I did, I would be failing pretty damn hard - ha!). I train my body like I do in order to show others that there is another path out of addiction, depression and anxiety. I do it to show others that one can find purpose in achieving extraordinary things in the physical realm. I do it to be prepared for anything that comes my way and to protect the ones I love.
I don’t work as hard as I do with a million dollar mansion and a garage full of Bugatti’s in mind. I have a message I need to get out into the world, and I need to find success in order to spread that message as far and as wide as it can go. I don’t care if I end up homeless or bankrupt, as long as I get my message to the world. I work as hard as I do because I know I can actually help people, and I know I can literally save lives. I’ve danced with the devil and survived, and I’m uniquely qualified to help others do the same. So I work my ass off every day to bring that message to the world. It’s not easy, but I know it’s exactly what I’m supposed to do.
I don’t say all of this for a pat on the back. I say it because it is my truth. I say it to tell you that you can do it too. Right now, there are people you know who are suffering. There are people close to you who are contemplating suicide at this very moment. That isn’t a guess, that’s a fact. What is more important to you - redesigning your kitchen, getting your next promotion or saving someone’s life? Your call could be the one that brings someone back from the edge. Your care could prevent someone from taking one pill too many. I know this is grim, but I can’t express how true this actually is. Each and every one of us has the ability to be an actual superhero for someone else. You don’t have to save the world, you just have to show one person they matter.
This doesn’t just apply to people we know. It applies to family, friends and strangers alike. We’re all so afraid of people taking advantage of us because we’ve been fooled before. We’ve shown love and care, and it has been thrown right back in our face. So we hide away from this scary world and focus only on what’s in front of us while everything and everyone around us burns. My question is this - what if we doubled down? What if we left no one behind, despite the very real possibility of being hurt? What if we took time out of our lives to care for the sufferers, the strangers, the destitute and the broken? What if we did so no matter the result, no matter if we get burned? To me, that’s the definition of spirituality.
This reflection feels a bit strange - I’m all kinds of fired up. I have no intention of preaching from my pulpit or telling you what to do with your life. I just wish you could see what I see. I wish you could see the underworld of the pretty facade we’ve created. I wish you could see the silent tears, the restless nights, the torment. I’ve seen it all, and I continue to see it each and every day.
Don’t leave anyone behind today. “Helping people” is just a nice sounding phrase unless there’s action. Move your feet, take a chance, say the thing you normally wouldn’t say. You never know what kind of ripples in time you might create. You never know whose life you might save.
Stay strong, so that others may learn to do the same.