Little Faith In Humanity: Cheers To The Soldiers

My heart is breaking. My heart is breaking for the world, this place we call home. This place that no matter where your longitude and latitude may be, we are all here together, today. It's all we've known. No matter your ethnicity, your gender, your sexuality, we all share a place of familiarity. My heart is breaking at the direction this world is turning. My heart is breaking for the people, near and far. My heart is breaking the further we fall. My heart really may never feel the same.

I am afraid. I am afraid for the future of my life, my kids' life, my grand-kids' life. I shouldn't be. I feel as though lately, there isn't anything positive circulating the social media globe. It's constant negative, disappointing, or frightening situations. It shouldn't be.

I grew up believing there is always something positive in every situation. We may not see it now, or tomorrow, but there is. There is always a reason for the black and grey area, whether it is just to make the white glow brighter, I do not know.

I am sure by now that we have all heard about the Chattanooga shooting. It is heartbreaking. It is scary. It is tragic. It is every heart-wrenching word in the dictionary. News has been informing us that it was a terrorist attack. Some even say this is just simply the beginning. To be honest, I feel as though that is true. This is just the beginning—and that is terrifying.

While surfing the web for something positive to shed some light, I came across an article posted two days before the Chattanooga tragedy about a soldier who also passed away.The story began in a Buffalo Wild Wings in Washington. A woman came in and ordered two drinks, a Corona, and a Blue Moon. The only problem: You are only allowed one beer at a time. Politely, the woman explained that she wouldn't be drinking the Corona. It was for her brother who passed away serving in Iraq. The waiter, Brian Avey, explained that the beer sat beside her during the entirety of her lunch, untouched. The tab was then picked up for the soldier's beer by the restaurant.

'"After she left, I didn’t have the heart to dump the beer out and throw it away, so I put it on top of the cooler next to the American Flag,” Avey wrote. “When I showed my boss, his response was amazing… He said ‘That’s Fine, just do me a favor, put a fresh Lime in it Every Morning.'"

After reading this article, my heart shined a little brighter. These individuals welcomed a woman's wish to remember her courageous brother who died. I cannot think of many people that would accept and act on someone's wish like it were their own. I can't imagine sitting beside that beer was easy for her. While it seems simple and honorary, I can only imagine her sitting there wishing he could be drinking it over good conversation and wings. As that shatters my heart, it also warms my heart that she was able to find such a simple and yet inspiring way to remember her brother.

As for the rest of us, while we continue to mourn those that have fought for our country and lost their life, let us also remember to celebrate their bravery, their sacrifice, and their will power to better strangers' lives everyday, just as she is.

It continuously breaks my heart to know that four innocent people lost their life, that four families are mourning over a family member, that four souls have reached heaven too soon. Let us as strangers and supporters, keep their memory alive. Let's raise four Coronas to those that were braver than us. Let us not forget.

Cheers today and forever.

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To read more about these stories:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/07/14/when-a-...
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/17/us/tennessee-shooter...