You may have noticed my absence from blogging for a week or so. Sometimes work, life, and general existence take precedence. Yep, I have been busy with CADFM and future posts will explain all of that.
In the meantime, I want to blog about something thing totally unrelated to CAD, BIM, AutoCAD or Revit. I have always promised you Not Just CAD! and that is what I want to give you on this Terrific Tuesday.
As some of you already know, I am a Brit, born in England, near a small town called Farnham in Surrey. We have this thing that the tourists love. It is called a Royal Family. We have a queen (Queen Elizabeth II) and various princes and princesses. They have had their fair share of success, tragedy, and intrigue. They are often in the global press, sometimes with good news, sometimes with bad news. One Royal who has been put through the wringer by the news outlets and the paparazzi is Prince Harry, HRH Duke of Sussex. With his recent marriage to Meghan Markle, he has seen some rough press as of late.
So, what has this to do with my Terrific Tuesday? Well, Prince Harry has served his country in more ways than one. He has served in the British Army in some of the toughest theatres of war, including flying helicopters in Afghanistan. I have had family members serve out there too, and I am massively proud of ALL our servicemen and women, who put their lives on the line for us, to make sure that we remain safe and can enjoy the freedoms we have today. With war comes injury, both physical and mental, and I have seen that first-hand in my family. It stays long after any war has gone and to bring that to light, Prince Harry created The Invictus Games Foundation and the Invictus Games, an Olympic Games style arena for those who have been affected by war, to compete and excel and show that they can fight back from the injuries and the demons that war can provide. To quote from their website: –
“The word ‘invictus’ means ‘unconquered’. It embodies the fighting spirit of wounded, injured and sick Service personnel and personifies what these tenacious men and women can achieve post injury. The Games harness the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for those who serve their country”.
Whatever you think of Prince Harry, this is an incredible legacy he is building. So much so, that the rock legend Jon Bon Jovi was inspired to record a version of his song Unbroken with the Invictus Choir at Abbey Road Studios in London recently. Throughout the decades, I have always been a fan of the Jovi, and his lyrics always tell a story. These lyrics especially. I watched the music video for the first time today, and it brought a tear to my eye. Not of sadness, but of sheer pride in these incredible people who serve us, not just in war, but right now.
There are thousands of people serving us right now on the front line of a different war. The doctors and nurses on the front line of coronavirus, the first responders, the police, the paramedics, the firemen and women, and the armed forces. The essential services that we need in the supermarkets, the neighbours who look after the elderly, the carers looking after the sick and infirm. They are all INCREDIBLE. They all serve us in one way or another helping us ALL by pulling together to get through this. We are seeing the virus leave us VERY slowly and we MUST remain unbroken in our resolve to beat it. There are so many different aspects of our lives affected by coronavirus and we must be positive and “keep calm and carry on” to use a well-known English phrase.
Today in the UK, at 11am, we obeyed a minute’s silence for all those key workers who have died in the fight against coronavirus. We must not let them have died in vain, by being ignorant and not listening to what we are being told. The science is being proved right and if we keep going, we WILL beat it.
As the song Unbroken says, “I’d do it all again”, and ALL of those who are serving us right now, in this time of uncertainty would do it all again, because that is who they are. It is in their DNA to serve, and I, for one, respect that amazing resolve they have, to keep going.
So, when you are sitting there at home, in lockdown, spare a moment for those who are right on the front lines. They have children, husbands, wives who they may have had to distance themselves from to stop the virus spreading so that they can serve us to make sure we ALL get through to the other side.
If one of those truly amazing people is in your family, a friend or a colleague, make sure you celebrate them on this Terrific Tuesday.
They deserve medals for what they are doing.
Hang on in there, stay safe, and most of all, be kind to one another. #bekind
It’s Terrific Tuesday.
Be terrific to others, and yourselves too. 😉
SCB.
PS – You can find the story of the Invictus Games Foundation here.
PPS – You can buy the song Unbroken by Jon Bon Jovi and The Invictus Choir on iTunes here.
(NOTE: All images, music and lyrics belong to their respective owners for copyright reasons)