When people make you feel all alone there is a place where you belong

A friend on Facebook sent me this.

I thanked her because I do know how it feels. Far too often I feel invisible in a crowded room. It happens on almost every job I am on as a temp because I don't fit in. It happens when I am with some of my regular friends and they are not interested in what I do in my work with veterans. It is much different when I am with my military friends (veterans and their families) because I do belong with them.

When they get together in veteran groups you can see the visible change in their mood compared to how they appear when they are with civilian groups. They know they belong there. They are understood there. They are not among strangers. They are among the others in the 7% of the population. They are among family members.

When these veterans go into civilian groups, they look the same as everyone else with the same interests and problems everyone else goes through but things are ranked differently for them. The things regular people complain about annoy them.

In college I met a lot of veterans and they had no tolerance for excuses. They didn't want to hear another student explain why they didn't get an assignment done on time or why they couldn't show up for class when they were supposed to be there. It was even worse when it was a group assignment and they didn't do their part.

These men and women had assignments in combat that could have cost someone their life if they didn't do what they were supposed to do, when they were supposed to do it. They went days without sleep but still had to do the work. They were far away from their families but still had to watch the backs of their military brothers and sisters. They had political opinions just like everyone else but unlike everyone else, things were in the proper perspective. No one asked how someone voted before they tried to save their life or be willing to take a bullet for them.

This country has things so twisted up and most of it is due to the press because they trivialize goodness in the majority of the population. We are not as divided as they want us to think we are. When it comes to what really matters, people show up to help each other and most of the people showing up are veterans. In town after town across the country, average people show up for them when they are in need but while the local press will cover their stories, the national press makes it seem as if it is all bad and Americans hate the other members of a political party.

If you are surrounded by people making you feel as if you are all alone, it isn't your fault. It is their fault. Find another group where you will not just feel as if they care but where you feel like you belong there.

Now take a look at this picture and know, if you risked your life in combat, these are the people you belong with. For Those I Love I Will Sacrifice

You are not alone!
There are over 22 million of you plus families.