I sat down with my friend Duffy to record a story— one of his personal stories— for the GY6 project. There’s a section in the workshop where we walk about Moral injury and the multi-faceted ways in which it can “happen” to any of us…

(For clarity, I think Moral Injury is a much bigger issue than PTSD, AND I think a lot of people confuse it with PTSD since we don’t talk a lot about it— see the links below for more clarification.)

Here’s what happened…

👇

I asked Duffy about a shooting he was involved in (as an officer who fired his weapon)…

… that was the story he shared in the previous episode, where he thought he was responding to a flipped car on the wrong side of the highway…

💥

Amidst that story— which we originally met to record, he told me about the incident that opened the entire podcast episode, the time when they arrested a drug dealer and the neighborhood who was reeling from the effects of those drugs bowed up and stood against the officers— 100 civilians threatening 5 officers.

Of course, we got into the story about the internal affairs investigation, the homicide inquiry (all standard procedure with officer involved shootings)…

… losing his gun and badge for a week…

… and his ex-wife cheating and leaving him, taking the kids out of state…

… and the threat of Jesse Jackson coming to town to protest against him and the other officers…

And then he starts talking about trauma related to the coast guard.

A helicopter going down…

After a fellow coastie drowning during a training incident.

And that lead to a discussion on an officer he knew— Justin Billa— who was killed while responding to a domestic just two days after they worked together…

And that lead to a story about Sean Tuder, who was also killed in the line of duty…

… both of these being men Duffy knew and worked with.

All of that…

… from talking about one story.



We didn’t go fishing for any of this. It just came up.

It was AFTER the fact, after he told me these stories, that I went back, found the videos online, and began stitching them together in the narrative form you now hear.

But it was all there.

He pulled one thread… and things just flowed.

😳

Why do I tell you that?

Because that’s what trauma is often like.

You start dealing with it, and you suddenly realize, “I’ve got more there, more to deal with.”

And, that’s good.

It would be LESS normal to NOT be impacted by these things that it is to be impacted.

In the same way you can’t walk outside in the rain without an umbrella and not get wet, you can’t walk through life— especially in some of these professions— and not take multiple hits to the spirit, the soul, and sometimes even the body…

👇

As my friend Beau might say— I interviewed him back in episodes 44-46, “You’re not broken. You’ve just been through a lot. And, as a result, you adapted.”

Of course he would say it more articulately than that, but you get the idea…

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Links you need to know about =

🚔 🚒 🪖After Action Project = https://www.afteractionproject.org/

😳 It is PTSD or Moral Injury, episode 41 = https://www.jenkins.tv/podcasts/podcast-version-2-0/episodes/2149187869

📓 Soul & Spirit Health + Healing = www.GY6.online/SSHH

🎙️ GY6 events = www.GY6.online/events

📳 The “best of” Soul Wholeness audio = www.Jenkins.tv/best (free audio course)

🔗 One-to-one personal coaching = https://www.jenkins.tv/PC

Every time a “marking event” occurs, your subconscious memory—

🗄️ Stores it

⭕️ Stamps it— with all the accompanying sites, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures.

This is how God designed us, and it works well for our survival AND our thriving in numerous ways.

But, when trauma gets involved (note: we weren’t created for trauma), some of this goes wonky…

… and, we read the present in light of the past in hurtful / harmful ways rather than helpful / healthy ways.

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Suggested next steps

The Field Guide / GY6 book = www.GY6.online/FG

Soul & Spirit Health + Healing = www.GY6.online/SSHH

GY6 workshop / upcoming events = www.GY6.online/events

The “best of” Soul Wholeness audio = www.Jenkins.tv/best (free audio course)

One-to-one personal coaching = https://www.jenkins.tv/PC

Past episodes, related to this one

#16, “Soul Whole” = https://www.jenkins.tv/podcasts/podcast-version-2-0/episodes/2149103023

#4, “Belief-Expectation Flywheel” = https://www.jenkins.tv/podcasts/podcast-version-2-0/episodes/2149076797

Where you are isn’t who you are.

It’s just the present location in which you find yourself.

📍

I love Myra’s stories about Carl…

… he blind husband.

(Myra has helped blind Veterans for 30+ years and started a nonprofit, Rewind for the Blind) that elevates this mission…

🚀🚀🚀

“He was going to do whatever he wanted to do,” she said, speaking of Carl.

… “even if it took a little patience and figuring.”

You see?

Where you are is NOT who you are.

Nor is it where you must remain.

But it is where you must begin…

⭐️

Carl notably said, “Light is overrated.”

It tracks with Charlie Boswell’s statement that “Blindness is an inconvenience— not a handicap.”

It’s quite a perspective…

✔️

And that leads me to this…

Meet people where they are. Blind. Sighted.

Whatever. We all carry untapped superpowers and we all have areas that might be— according others— seen as odd, unique, weak, different…

Meet people where they are.

And then move forward together…

🚌🚌🚌🚌🚌

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Links you need to know about =

⛳️ Rewind for the Blind = https://rewindfortheblind.org

⭐️ Donation link for Rewind for the Blind = https://rewindfortheblind.org/donate/

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🎙️ GY6 events = www.GY6.online/events

📳 The “best of” Soul Wholeness audio = www.Jenkins.tv/best (free audio course)

🔗 One-to-one personal coaching = https://www.jenkins.tv/PC