I recently finished watching the series “Band of Brothers” for the first time. I was wholly moved by Part 9 titled, “Why We Fight.” The men from Easy Company have experienced the trials of war for several years. They have held their line at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. The men are at the breaking point due to heavy resistance and nearly a month of being barraged by German artillery on the front line. The soldiers are demoralized, bitter, weary, and emotions are frayed. They have lost comrades and friends and seen horrific things that will forever seer their memories. In a spirit of despair and anger, you can sense the internal questions punctuated with curse words … “Why are we ***** fighting? Why the ***** are we doing this? What’s the ***** point?”
Then out of the blue, totally unexpected, Easy Company comes across a concentration camp. In an instant, the reasons “why we fight” become crystal clear.
I was struck by how this pattern is real in life. Often there are prolonged periods of hard work, toil, labor, economic recession, financial pressure, relationship stress, conflict, fatigue, networking, marketing, studying, exercising, training, practicing, and so on. You name it. I’m sure you can name your own “battles.”
And then there are the moments, usually unforeseen, that suddenly make the “fighting” worth it. A moment of intimacy, an outstanding performance or victory, reaching a goal or milestone, a new skill that suddenly clicks, inspiring someone to achieve, hearing “I love you” from your child, the birth of a child, getting the job you love, experiencing a “God-sighting.” These are the moments in life when awareness produces clarity, and the purpose of our work is revealed. Keep fighting for those moments that are beyond your current vision …
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