I was reading Lone Survivor (before I had to return it half read because of language). He talks about the various tests of endurance the SEALS were asked to endure in their training. In addition to physical stress, they were asked to endure emotional trials. One day there was a room check. One of the SEALS had spent hours getting his room perfect. When it came time for room check, he found that his room had been trashed. An instructor had sneaked through the window, trashed the room, and then exited - only to enter later and given him heck for having an uncleaned room. The explanation for doing such a thing was something like this: physical challenges are one thing, but what gets to you are the emotional ones. The very unfairness of the situation is what made it a particularly telling test. Could they endure unfairness and be able to get past it?
I have thought a lot about that. We do A, B, C and expect to get D. When we get Q instead, that is difficult to get our minds around.
1 comment:
So true - we see others reap the benefits of doing A, B, and C, and so we think we should achieve the same benefit. Parenting is this way - you swear that you did the same things parenting one child versus another, but to varied results - because they are individuals, and respond with their own unique personalities.
Illness is also this way - you see someone else make the same choices you make, yet you get sick and they are healthy. Not "fair" at all.
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