Healing Morning Extra - Love If Freedom

 Healing Morning Extra. This, to me, is the very foundation of the United States of America - an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage. 🇺🇸

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Healing Morning’s Prayer - God Bless the USA

 Healing Morning Extra™️. On this day which underscores the tenets that form our country, we take a moment to pray. God Bless the United States of America and her people. 🇺🇸

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Healing Morning Extra - Constitution Day

 It is vitally important to note dates of historic impact to our country. On September 17, 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the document of the Constitution in Philadelphia. ❤️ 🇺🇸

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Give me tomorrow

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December 24, 2013 Update:

I wrote this article in December 2010 because I was a bit disappointed with the lack of media attention given to the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor bombing here in the United States.  Christmas Day 2013 is approaching for us now, and I decided to re-post this same article because I many friends request it each year, and it is vitally important to me that we remember our men and women in the military who are far from home during so many holidays. What I will add is that I have found another website called The Veterans Site that many of you might want to visit. This site sells products and uses the proceeds to feed homeless and hungry veterans. Each product listed on their site indicates how many meals it will purchase. You can also sign up to receive a daily email reminder to visit their site and click their blue button at the top of the page; each time this button is clicked, sponsors of The Veterans Site donate money for meals for homeless and hungry veterans. 100% of sponsor money goes to charity, so I do this daily click. It takes perhaps 15 seconds to accomplish. 

I dedicate the article below to my family members who have served in the United States Armed Forces:  Ted Reagan, Wendell Reagan, Clayton Reagan, Charles Reagan, Ronald Reagan (these first 5 names are my uncles, all of which are my heroes and father figures), William "Bill" Albert Prince III (my uncle), Kenneth Reagan, Tim Reagan, Steve Richardson, Drew Reagan, Christopher Taylor, Quincy Trentham (my cousins), Bill Sievers (my dad), Dick Nelson, David Reagan, Reece Reagan Jr., Curt Pickens, John Day (my cousins), Ben Barbie (honorary uncle), Sam Bright (great uncle), Edward Nelson, Fred Nelson Jr., Don Nelson, James Bennett (my cousins) and Papa Michael Long (my honorary dad).


Original article date, December 8, 2010

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I am paraphrasing this story from memory, from an article I read many years ago in Parade magazine. It was written by a war correspondent who started his career during the Korean conflict. He was cocky; sure he would go into the war zone and interview soldiers, then write brilliant articles and quickly make his mark in the literary world. He was dropped off at the front lines in winter and proceeded to make a nuisance of himself, badgering weary soldiers with what he admitted later in life were absurd questions. They were all exhausted, wet, poorly clothed for the winter weather, and not at all welcoming to his chatter and blustery manner.

One quiet soldier caught his attention. The reporter remembered that he had haunted eyes and kept himself aloof from the rest of his troop. When he asked some of the other men why that was, the answer was this young man of 23 had been there the longest and had lost over 35 close friends on his tour. A soldier of 23 years was considered an "old man" in that particular arena. Sure that this guy was the one to give him the story content he had been anticipating, the reporter walked over, sat down and began trying to interview him. No answers were forthcoming. The young soldier wasn't rude; he just sat there, tending to his weapon and ignored every inquiry the reporter threw at him. Finally, in frustration, the reporter threw out a banal suggestion.

"Tell me what you want for Christmas this year!"

Silence reigned for so long that the reporter had decided to give up and move on to another prospect when the young man with the haunted eyes finally looked up and pinned him with a weary stare.

"Give me tomorrow," he said simply, then stood up, weapon in hand and walked away.

The reporter said that he never forgot that simple lesson, and that simple statement. He said it taught him that vanity and hubris had no place on any battlefield and he learned that day that he had a long way to go before he could ever dream to reach a level of class that that young man with the haunted eyes projected with one simple statement. I do not recall the Parade article mentioning if this young soldier made it home from Korea. I like to believe that he did, that he made it home and lived a long, happy life, was able to marry and have children and that he enjoyed many, many tomorrows.

I apologize for not having the reporter's name to share; I believe he went on to win quite a strong level of acclaim throughout his career. I just always think of this story at Christmastime, and again at various significant military dates, when so many of our Armed Forces are far from home, and all of them are wanting one simple thing. Tomorrow.

Over the years, there have been a few similar instances where my heart and my imagination were captured. The bombing of the U.S. and French barracks in Beirut in 1983 is one such moment. Only days prior to the bombing, one of the national news stations had sent reporters in to interview some of the soldiers there. One beautiful young man was interviewed as he was in the weight room, working out. He was intelligent, well mannered, thoughtful in his responses and wanted one thing - for everyone in his troop to make it home safely. Two or three days later, the bombing occurred and I have wondered quite often over the years if that beautiful young man survived the bombing. 299 American and French troops perished that day. I'll never know the answer to that question, but I've always prayed he had many, many tomorrows to enjoy as well.

No one in this world, if they're in their right mind, wants or believes in war. I choose to be patriotic on many levels, as I wholeheartedly love my home country and I am proud of us as a Nation. I do not ever think that war is the best solution to any chaotic situation. That being said, when our troops are sent out to dangerous areas, I am going to be one of those Americans who strongly support their efforts. It is because of those troops, those men and women of the United States, and what they do every single day, that we remain free and protected, safe for the most part, to enjoy our own tomorrows.

During the Christmas 2010 season, I have a friend in Iraq who will be coming home soon. I met him through the Cup of Joe for a Joe coffee program on the http://www.greenbeanscoffee.com/ website. He is on the countdown stage right now, anticipating being home to spend the holidays with his loved ones. With just a bit more patience and luck, he will be home safely, embracing many tomorrows. *2011 Update: this friend did make it home safely; he is now preparing for his next active duty tour.*  But we all know that there are just as many who had their tomorrows cut short. We see it every single day on the evening news. The numbers increase daily, and families throughout the United States (and other countries who have a military presence in war zones) get those dreaded official visits, telling them the fateful news.

Tomorrow is not promised to any of us, this much is another simple truth. For soldiers, it is a daily tightrope and a tenuous journey they walk, rarely knowing if they'll have that next tomorrow. Regardless of your feelings about our presence in any wartorn country, I would hope that everyone can find it in their hearts to put those opinions aside and be supportive of our troops who are currently deployed. Send them loving prayer, send Care Packages if you are able to, do something like the coffee gift program, or The Veterans Site that I mentioned above. All soldiers deserve to know that their daily efforts are appreciated. I like to believe that the more support we all offer, the more loving thought and prayer we focus on our troops, perhaps the stronger the chances are for many of them that they will, indeed, see more tomorrows. For soldiers who make it home safely, the war doesn't always end there.  They require medical and psychological help that is difficult to obtain.  Many others reengage successfully with civilian life, and they are the lucky ones.  Regardless of their journey, they all deserve appreciation, recognition and support.



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Godspeed and God Bless all the souls who protect and serve the United States Armed Forces. I wish for each and every one of them the United States soldier's wish from decades ago in Korea:

Give them tomorrow. Many, many tomorrows.

Quiet Tribute

*I wrote this article in 2012, and feel that it still speaks my heart and my perspective on the day this tragedy struck my country.  It is my way of paying tribute and remembering those who fell that day.  - S. Dawn Sievers*

I was taking a shower that morning, and heard the phone ringing.  I didn't think much of it, as I had plans to meet a girlfriend for lunch later that day.  I finished showering, decided to dry my hair before listening to the answering machine message.  But the phone rang again, and yet again, encouraging me to stop everything and answer the call. It was my girlfriend telling me the USA had been attacked, that a plane had hit one of the Towers of the World Trade Center and another one had gone down in a field somewhere in Pennsylvania, and equally nightmarish - a living nightmare - was the news that our Pentagon had also suffered an attack....all of this happening within a very short span of time on the clock of that September morning.

This was difficult to even picture or fathom, because this type of thing just doesn't happen to America.  Or, it didn't.  Up until that day, our country had lived in a unique bubble, safe and never assailed by outside forces in this modern age.  The bubble was broken that day.

I turned the TV on and watched, horrified.  The second plane hit the second of the World Trade Center Towers before my eyes and the eyes of the whole world.  Comprehension and terrible understanding sank in.  As I left my house to drive over to my girlfriend's house, I noticed the absolute hush over the day.  Some of this hush was due to all airplanes except for military being grounded, but it was more than that.

There was a hush in nature.  

No birds were singing.  I remember that very clearly, and I stood outside listening for a good 15 minutes, looking around me, but the sounds of nature were silent.  My home at the time was surrounded by heavy tracts of woods, so there were always the sounds of birds chirping.  But not that day.  It was silent outside.  There was no breeze.  Just a still hush over the world that was palpable.  I will never forget how it felt, as though the world was holding its breath for the people who perished that day.

I spent the day getting in touch with everyone I love the most, making sure they were safe.  There was an intrinsic need to connect with them, and I learned I was not alone in that need.  Phone lines and computer servers were overloaded with extremely high levels of activity that day.  I grieved at what a great loss we had incurred and struggled to make sense of it.  There is no sense to be garnered, obviously.  The only positive thing I can take from it is that we survived it.  Our country survived, but thousands of innocent people died.  This many years later, the memories are still vivid and fresh, and for many....still raw.

I've read other people's thoughts of where they were that day. I was in Knoxville, Tennessee, living my very ordinary life, safe and far from harm's way.  That prompted me to share my memories and what still stands out so strongly in my memory was how quiet the day became.  For those who believe this planet is inanimate, without reaction to tragic events, I would hold that memory out as an example of the exact opposite.

I felt the earth react and give quiet tribute to the ones who left us.

Noble Undertaking

Photo: www.blog.utest.com

I first wrote this article in February 2010, prior to the Winter Olympics that year.  We are now approaching the Summer Olympics of 2012, so I am adding on to this original post.  My thoughts haven't shifted to any large degree and I think this article still stands strong enough to be shared again.

The Summer Olympics begin this year the weekend of July 27th.  Those who know me well are quite aware of the fact that I'm not the most athletically gifted person in the world.   I was never one to join team sports or be a fan of getting sweaty and dirty while pushing my physical limits to extremes in the pursuit of athletic excellence.  It may seem contradictory, in light of these facts, that I am a fervent fan of the Olympics.  I admit it's a bit unusual for someone who is not all that athletic to be so dedicated to watching the penultimate two week period of all things athletically related.

Why am I such a fan?  What is it about the Olympic Winter and Summer Games that captures the attention, imagination and hearts of the whole world?  One reason is simply that very fact...it is a moment in time where the whole world is focused on one brief window, one narrow, specific place on the planet, where a small retinue of talented young people gather from every country, in peace, to compete in a variety of individual and group sports.

The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius", a Latin expression meaning "Faster, Higher, Stronger".

The Olympic Creed is...

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well." (Olympic Motto & Creed, Wikipedia)

During every Olympics, there are remarkable stories of incredible feats of athletic strength, courage and endurance that, any other time, would be considered unreachable, impossible to achieve. Yet, they do happen, and the blooming of the human spirit, the digging deep within that these young people do is what speaks to each of us in a way that is so touching. We collectively witness athleticism at its highest, most pure level....drama, unparalelled pressure and demands on the human body, excitement and patriotic fever run rampant. Indeed, many of the most memorable moments during the Olympic Games aren't of gold medal winning performances - they are of the enduring human stubborn refusal to give up that burns in the hearts of these athletes who push themselves to finish their race, their sport, their individual competition, because they are at the Olympics.

In ancient times, warriors would compete in the Greek Games in peace, setting aside their weapons and coming together in the spirit of the Games.  This most vital component exists today in our modern Olympic Games and, I feel, is another reason the Olympics are such a unifying moment for the entire world.  Thousands of hopeful young people gather together for this same noble concept.  Most of them will not win a medal.  For the majority of the athletes, simply winning a spot on their country's Olympic Team and making it to the Olympics is a dream beyond compare and a once in a lifetime experience that few are blessed to live. 

For me, it is a two week period that is full of hope, and a purity of energy that lifts the whole world up.  I watch everything during the Olympics and it is extremely important to me, when a U.S. athlete wins a medal, that we are able to witness the medal ceremony and hear our National Anthem being played.  I get choked up every single time I hear the U.S. National Anthem played, and my emotions are racked higher during the Olympics.  It is a "feel good" moment that lasts for two weeks and creates some of the most enduring memories.

If any of the people reading this post watched the last Summer Olympics with me, who among us will ever forget watching Michael Phelps break the swimming records and medal victories set by Mark Spitz in the 1970's?  I watched, absolutely spellbound, wishing with all my heart for that young man to achieve the goals that so many doubted, scoffed and outright declared were impossible.  And, he did achieve them...every single one.  I watched every single event he competed in and I witnessed every single gold medal performance, as well as each medal ceremony that was televised.  I experienced that euphoria that all sports fans feel when their team wins, but for me, it goes so much deeper than that simple desire.  This year, Michael Phelps will be closing out his Olympic career at these Summer Games.  I hope to watch him increase his medal winnings, and I look forward to seeing the upcoming new, young athletes who follow in his footsteps.

During those moments of watching Michael Phelps achieve his mutiple gold medal wins, and so many other Olympic performances, my heart and spirit were transported in a manner that I sometimes experience when I hear an especially beautiful piece of music, or witness a uniquely beautiful moment in nature....feel an especially bright moment of love for another.  It is difficult to put into words, the emotions that I feel during the Olympic Games, but I am positive that the energy that is created during those two brief weeks every two years is very important to the overall energy of our planet Earth.  I feel that it is a healing energy that takes place and I also believe the young people who compete in the Olympic Games are forever changed by their individual experiences.  They then go forth to live their lives, it is to be hoped, and do more wonderful, positive things.

I believe that each country cares about the Olympic Games for more reasons than just winning.  Yes, of course every athlete attending the Olympic Games dreams of winning that gold medal, standing on that podium and hearing their own National Anthem played.  Beyond that ultimate moment, the Olympics themselves present an ideal - a wish and a dream of everything being possible and within the grasp of each athlete.  The Olympic Games hold elation, promise...and possibly most importantly, the Games represent Hope.  In these modern times, I cannot think of any single human emotion that is more important than to feel hopeful. 

So, in these next two weeks, everyone who knows me well will sigh, shake their heads in slight amusement, and agree to not ask me to come to dinner, agree to not call me after 7 pm and then greet me again at the end of the Olympic Games.  They know they will hear me wax rhapsodic about the highlights of the Olympic Games for the next couple of weeks, and they'll kid me about my borderline unreasonable devotion to not missing a single, exciting moment of televised coverage. 

It's okay - they're used to me, and I'm used to them, and I am not offended when they find me amusing.  I know that I'm a bit outside the norm in this regard.  It makes me happy to watch the Olympic Games, plain and simple.  In the coming two weeks, I am confident that I will witness some truly inspirational, amazing moments.  I am equally confident that for two short weeks, this beautiful planet that I love so deeply will also bask in the higher vibration that is generated by the Olympic Games.  For a short period of time, magnificent competition, experiences, emotions and memories will blaze brightly and proudly.  And I will have been there to see it.  My memories will be richer, my heart will be stronger, and my Soul will be gladdened. 

Perhaps, for those of us not so athletically gifted, the Olympic Games are also a moment to simply appreciate what those who are truly athletically gifted can accomplish.  At the end of the day, the Games are an exercise in pursuing excellence, pursuing dreams and being up at the top of a mountain, poised to jump out bravely into the unknown and grab victory in both hands.  When you think about it, that's a noble undertaking for two otherwise ordinary weeks out of the year.