Being vulnerable for the people that matter

Bismillah.

Inspiration is hard to come by. Especially when the noise level hits high decibels.

But for Tom Morkes, an Iraq war veteran, the staggering noise and chaos on battlefield led him to some inspiring lessons which other people can draw upon. In his article 'What war taught me about writing', he shared writing tips he brought back from war - quite an unlikely place.

Tom likened writing to being vulnerable like when you are 'outside the wire' i.e. outside your comfort zone where you are exposed to danger. He wrote: 'When you write and publish, whether it's a blog post once a day or a book once a decade, you expose yourself to naysayers and critics. When you're doing your best work, your most authentic work, it leaves you vulnerable.'

But in combat zone just like in writing, if he did not go 'outside the wire' and make himself vulnerable, people who needed his support, people that matter, would be deprived. Having to go out on battlefield on a daily basis, he and his team had to take risks and from the daily risk-taking lessons they learned, they increased their success rate in case something bad were to happen.

Likewise in writing, we have to take risks and push our self to the limit to create something useful regardless of the critics. Tom advised: "Don't worry about the naysayers, critics whatever. Write for the people that matter."

Read Toms' full article here:

http://goinswriter.com

Similarly, we can relate these lessons to the flight captain, co-pilot and crew of MH370 which has gone missing since March 8. And also all the flight captains, co-pilots and crew of each and every flight that takes off day in day out. They choose to make themselves vulnerable and go "outside the wire" or rather go up into thin air and take daily risks. If they didn't, many people would be deprived - families/friends cannot unite, businesses won't get done, no one can enjoy holidays abroad and so on. They do it for the people that matter - us - passengers. If they were too bothered by critics in case something goes wrong, they wouldn't do what they're meant to do and passionately at that. Certainly we must salute people who care to make themselves vulnerable for the people that matter.

     

Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone on board flight MH370 and their families and friends.

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pic credit: www.thestar.com.my