May 9, 2007Realistic Emails Home from Iraq
A military commander stationed in Iraq told an NPR journalist that he encouraged his soldiers to be realistic about the level of danger they’re in when writing emails to their families. He said he’d lost three men, and the family that was aware of the danger of the mission handled their loss much better than those who heard sugar-coated reports.
Of course it made sense to me. It later occurred to me that the soldier who gave the most realistic reports probably had a family that was willing to hear the truth and the other two probably had families that encouraged sugar-coating.
I remember the first time I became aware that my father was leading his conversation with me in a way that made it difficult for me to express concerns, problems or issues. At that moment I realized that my tendency to only tell rosy tales was part of a family dynamic.
How about you? Do you make it easy for your family to be open with you? Or do you send subtle or not so subtle messages about what you want to hear?
Be sure to read this week’s success story. It’s a true testament to the power of truth in family dynamics. It’s instructive as well as inspirational.
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