While there is a hint of humor in the title of this post, I would be remiss not to add that there are also more than a couple nuggets of truth within it as well.
I don’t necessarily know that I have a specific time or incident that I will point out within this little treatise (Although I may. We’ll see.) It’s more of a broad overview, as I am pretty much just writing off the cuff here. We’ll see where it ends up, I guess.
Have an “enemy”:
Every hero has to have a villain, right?
Batman has The Joker.
The Avengers had Thanos.
James Bond had Blofeld.
As the “hero” in our own story, we too need a villain to test us sometimes.
Enemy mine.
It need not be a person either. It may very well be, but it doesn’t have to be.
It could be a detractor, or detractors, who told you you’ll never amount to anything. It could be a bully who pushed you around, or it could be something as simple as you own self.
Maybe, like me, you were a slightly chunky, nonathletic bookworm who wouldn’t say “shit” if he had a mouthful.
Maybe, like me, one day you got sick of it and decided that wasn’t who you really were, or who you wanted to be.
You got angry at who was looking back at you in the mirror and decided he wasn’t cutting it anymore, and you decided to join the Marines.
I would love to sit here and say that my intentions were strictly noble, and I joined the service purely to serve God, Corps and Country, but that wouldn’t be entirely accurate, which leads me to my next point.
Romanticize it:
While I certainly loved the idea of serving the greater good, I would be remiss if I did not state that the trigger was a need to change myself. A need to shed that old skin and becoming something better.
The notion of forging yourself into a superhuman fighting machine dedicated to protecting the innocent and vanquishing your enemies is certainly a romantic one, isn’t it?
Of course, the reality is a bit different.
It was dirty, hot, sweaty, often miserable, and frequently, boring work.
But, that romantic notion can push you to forget your reservations, pull that trigger and do it.
And honestly, once you are standing on that deck on graduation day, or coming home to screaming crowds, for a brief moment in time, you do indeed feel like a superhero.
Sure as hell wasn’t born this way.
Laugh about it:
Sometimes, when there is no other recourse, the best thing to do is just look at the obstacle (or fear) in front of you and laugh in it’s face.
I am sure we have all had moments in our life where a tense situation was made a bit easier by a well-timed quip from ourselves or another member of our circle.
No, it may not make the problem go away, but for a brief second, you are actually able to forget about it and remember that in the grand scheme of things, life is often a divine comedy worthy of our ridicule.
Think of the world as your own personal joke book. While some situations are truly serious and deserving of our undivided attention, there are many situations where our fear is unfounded, and sometimes, downright silly.
Now, THAT was a good one!
Remember you’re not as important as you think you are:
Obviously, we are important in our own way, but sometimes we tend to overestimate our value and think every eye is on us.
Our fears are based on what others might say or think, when in reality, a lot of the time, people barely notice or even care.
Sure, they might laugh when they see you running through Central Park dressed as a carrot on a winter’s day, but after they’re done laughing, they go on with their business and you’re quickly forgotten.
Okay, so you might not forget TOO quickly, but whatever. 🤷♂️
So, anyhow…I don’t know that I have added anything of value to the conversation, or if I was just thinking aloud. 😄
Either way, I wish you all a fantastic day.
Be safe, be blessed, and as always…
Stay Frosty.
©KHR, 2025
![Theresa [Hey, Traveler] Avatar](https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/6574ed50b29d3b780d644e1ceab3bed8cd8ac90e2b1ca004646ee8cc232ee86e?s=40&d=identicon&r=G){kind=avatar}
The Beginning At Last 
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