Embrace The Suck

It's a title, a book by retired soldier Austin Bay, and a mantra for so much of what we do, both in the military and in police work.    What we do, in large part, sucks.  But to succeed in our chosen field, we have to work through the bad times and maintain our professionalism, take care of the unit, and take care of our personal growth. 

Whether you are standing a lonely guard post on a cold, rainy midnight posting, or dispatched to an in-progress domestic incident, or yet even assigned to a boring desk job, our work sucks.  It's all vital, it's all necessary, and it's not always what we want to do.  So, embrace it.  Remember that we're here to serve something larger than ourselves.  We're doing what we do to preserve freedom, to serve the community, to serve justice.

It is very nearly a Buddhist concept.  Whatever life throws at us, we're here to do a job, and the lesson comes from the way we do it.  One day, if we're lucky, we'll get to reflect on it, to realize that what we've done comes from, and makes us, what we are.

Ten years I worked in an inner-city high school, and for most of that time, I thought that it sucked.  There were very few days that I can recall that were pleasant, jovial, and memorable.  The vast majority of those days were not.  Yet, I've run into students who graduated from that high school, and they remember me, even if I don't remember them.  They are young adults now, productive citizens in all walks of life, and I can take pleasure in knowing that they remember me, many of them fondly.

In just a few days, my associates are going to give me a retirement reception, and perhaps that's why I'm being introspective.  I'll probably be asked to give a few remarks, and I'm trying to figure out how to wrap up a nearly 40 year career in two minutes or less. 

The world will not long note, nor probably even care, but it matters to me.  So, it's well that I put my thought together.  This too will suck, but I'll embrace it.  I have too much riding on it to do otherwise.