Manifesto - Entry 1

No matter where this series goes from here, you will miss it all if you miss this. I want you to really marinate on the reality we’re about to talk about.

Back in May of 2020, my daughter was born. You may know the circumstances surrounding that, you may not. Due to some complications far beyond anyone's control, she rocked our world over two months early. That little bundle of sass rocked the NICU though and did great. My wife, on the other hand, not so much. While she is doing great today, her time was hard. A condition called pre-eclampsia, like it does in countless other women, set in with a vengeance. I was shocked when, in a very short time, the fluid that her body retained went as far as to drastically impact her eyes.

Long story short, we had a few procedures scheduled that would ultimately heal her eyes and restore her vision. In the moment, though, we faced a lot of unknowns. I tell this very vulnerable story about our family to tell you this: One day, sitting in Adley’s NICU room, I look over at my bride who is holding our brand new baby girl and she is just looking very intently at her. When I ask her if she was okay, I didn’t know her reply would echo in my head to this day. “I’m trying to burn her little face in my mind just in case my eyes get worse and I can’t see her again.”

In that moment, she held in her arms something of great value to both of us…and she was determined that she was going to SEE her…and to see her in such a way to remember her.

To really SEE something is to notice it...to become aware of it…to pay close and careful attention…

Here’s the deal…we see things all day, every day. We’re constantly bombarded with things that compete for our affections and attention. In all of this…what do you really SEE. What are those things that you value so much that if you were faced with losing your ability to physically see, that you would want to burn in your mind? Do you see it? Can you clearly see it in such a way that you know it?

To me personally (and to our organization) this thing we call “The Every Warrior Manifesto” is built on the fact that you (the man or woman reading that that just so happens to serve in our military) are the thing that is SEEN. All of us, when it comes down to it, value something. And you would be hard-pressed to find someone that truly doesn’t value someone else. With that reality, who do YOU see? Who needs your attention? Who needs to be remembered?

Before we can answer that question, though, we have to accept and understand the fact that we, ourselves, ARE seen…and on top of that, DESERVE to be seen. You may be facing the greatest pain imaginable. You are seen. You may be facing the repercussions of some horrific mistake. You are seen. You may feel alone. You are seen. Don’t feel like it? Don’t think anyone cares? Don’t believe me? Reality may just be that nobody knows what’s going on with you. You may have to tell someone. You may have to SEE someone.

You see, SEEing happens inside of relationships. You see stuff all day long, but you pay attention to what you care about. So, look no further than the folks you care about to both SEE people and to BE SEEN. And if you feel as if you don’t have that relationship…then let me just leave you with this. I am walking proof that I could both be seen in relationships I didn’t think would survive if I let them see all of me AND in relationships that I never even saw coming.

So, rest in this…you are seen…you are noticed…you are loved…even if you don’t see it yet.

-Trey