Here's a little lesson in perspective.
In January 2008 I was 24 yrs old, I was laying in a bed in Sellyoak Hospital, Birmingham, having just had three limbs traumatically torn from my body & it was fair to say I felt like shit.
Having been given the news that it was highly unlikely I'd ever walk again, as you might expect, I got depressed & just wanted to be alone. During my time in hospital I had a phone call from my friend, fellow Royal Marine & fellow proud Plymothian Cpl Damian Mulvihill, who was serving on the same tour of Afghanistan as me (Operation Herrick 7) with the same unit (40 Cdo).
Damian had come home for 2 weeks R&R and one of the first things he did was call me to see how I was doing. I ignored the call because I didn't feel up to talking to anyone & if I'm honest if I had of spoken to him I probably would have just burst into tears because I was in a shit place.
2 weeks past & Damian went back to Afghan to finish his tour, shortly after his return he was killed by an I.E.D (Improvised Explosive Device) on this day, 11 March, 9 yrs ago.
You guys pay me compliments & say nice things about me all the time & always ask how I stay so positive & keep moving forward with my life, here's the secret: perspective!
I'm 33 now, 1 yr older than Damian was when he was killed, I defy anyone to say that doesn't put things into perspective. I'm grateful for every single day I walk this planet & you should be to.
Did you know there's a 1 in 400 trillion chance of you even being born; if your Mum & Dad fell asleep that night after a bottle of wine you wouldn't be here. If you're over 32 yrs old then you should feel grateful you made it this far, & there are memorials here in this garden for men much younger. If you're healthy then count your blessings, & even if you're going through tough times right now, understand that you have the opportunity to change that & to take control & push your life to where you want it to be, because you're alive; everything you want is out there for the taking, all you have to do is put your own shit in perspective, drop your bullshit excuses & go out there and make it happen.
