Rumi says:
The cure for the pain in in the pain.
Dance, when you’re broken open.
Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of the fighting….
Dance when you’re perfectly free.
All I know of spirit
is this love….
In The Rumi Secret, in a section on “Evil and Loss,” I write:
“In writing these words, I am painfully aware of the war, genocide, and brutality around the world. I bless those on terrifying battlefields, those being tortured or held without justice in cruel prisons, victims of every form of violence, those in mourning for loved ones who have died…or been killed by drunk or malevolent or random acts, those who must live everyday with illness or pain or an impaired body.
I know that among the privileged as well as the poor of every country, the lives of some of the inhabitants of mansions and huts alike are poisoned by abuse, domination, fear, and unconsciousness. Blessings to all human beings in pain and misery this day and every day! Blessings to you, dear reader, if you are one of them. Take heart!”
In this post, I want to focus again on those who serve us in uniform. Today I’m inviting more of the encouraging response to my recent post asking all mental health professionals to volunteer their services to one or more families of and veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. I’m eager to connect with veterans, and with anyone who has ideas about putting this idea into practice. Please email me at drlee@drvictorialee.com.
To those in pain from the trauma of war, I want to emphasize that the guidance of a skilled and supportive therapist can help you find your way back. When used by skillful therapists, today’s counseling tools are powerful. A therapist who has a highly developed spiritual life as well as deep training and experience can help you construct a plan that can heal the worst of human misery. This includes torture, post-traumatic stress-disorder, disruption of relationships, and the contemplation of suicide.
One part of taking on such a worthy challenge is the need to call on divine grace. Calling on your Higher Power, as you understand that term, can empower you as nothing else does. Being in touch with others who’ve shared your experience can make a huge difference. As the members of every 12-step program learn, becoming a resource to others who are suffering as you have can help you turn your own life around.
This is my message to veterans on the battlefield right now, and to those who have returned with the scars of war on their bodies and hearts:
Please know that thousands of your counrymen and women love you, pray for you, and are ready to serve you as you have served all of us. Fellow therapists, let’s take this opportunity to serve these precious men and women. “Each one help one.”
