spiritual transformation
TC Davis
The Interfaith Veterans Workgroup formed in 2015 in response to the high suicide rate among military veterans. Reducing that rate in the state of Delaware motivated us to explore evidence based methods of treatment for PTSD and moral injury. As I have worked on that mission since 2015 I have come to realize that IVW may have a wider mission which underlies that of preventing veteran suicide. That wider mission is encouraging veterans to use their warrior wisdom for peacemaking.
Warriors are among those who have experienced the most appalling moral ugliness to which our species may sink. This experience sometimes breaks down the human spirit so thoroughly that taking one’s own life seems the only way of escaping the misery. But this is not always so. There is such a thing as post traumatic growth. The brutality of making war can break a grieving warrior open, initiating a spiritual transformation which changes his or her life forever. The crucible of war can make one stronger. When I speak about veterans using their warrior wisdom for peacemaking, this is the transformation I have in mind, a transformation which I and many other veterans have experienced.
I commend to you the following reflection by David Brooks, published in the past Sunday’s New York Times. Brooks describes the benefits of being broken open by a defeat or calamity which threatens to crush one’s spirit. As IVW works on drafting vision and mission statements, his essay will be useful background reading:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/06/opinion/sunday/moral-revolution-david-brooks.html
Peace,
-- Tom
