“One of the most important values that the military teaches you is the ethos of service.” - Michael Waltz

“Thank you for your service” always makes me feel vaguely uncomfortable. I’m not quite sure why to be honest.its a well-meant and accurate statement. Military and law enforcement are certainly both fields based upon service to something beyond yourself, to serving larger ends than just your own. Perhaps it makes me feel uncomfortable because I enjoyed my service, or perhaps it’s because I know people who sacrificed so much more than I did. 

Regardless though, being a warrior is fundamentally about service. It’s imbedded in our language “service member,” “military service.” Even throughout history this has been true. The etymology of both the words “samurai” and “knight” have essentially the same meaning. “One who serves.”

Contrary to many popular culture influences, being a warrior isn’t about bluster, arrogance, and brutality, it’s about service and sacrifice. This of course doesn’t mean there haven’t been abuses committed in the name of service through history, stretching from antiquity to the modern day. But at its heart, to be a warrior means to serve a cause greater than your own, and to sacrifice your own interests for that cause, including your life if need be. 

I also don’t mean to imply that meaningful service only exists for soldiers and policemen. There are many ways to serve society honorably and all of them have value when done for the right reasons and in the right ways. 

But however you choose to serve, one thing remains true. There’s a satisfaction in getting off the sidelines and into the good fight. There’s a meaning to a life lived through service that those who serve only themselves selfishly will never know. There’s a cost to be paid as well to be sure, but in my experience the satisfaction was worth the price. Contribute to the overall good, in whichever way resonates with you, live a life of service in your own way, and when your old and grey you’ll be able to look back on a life well lived…