A Celebration of Survival!
Chris "Elroy" Stricklin
President at Dunn University | 3-time Bestselling Author | Forbes Contributor | Motivational Speaker | Retired Senior Military Leader
“The journey is the reward.” ~Chinese Proverb
Today is a celebration of life.
Today is a celebration of living.
Today is the tomorrow I almost lost.
Today is the tomorrow I almost did not share with my family.
Fifteen years ago, today, I ejected from my Thunderbird F-16, one-half second before an explosive impact.
Fifteen years ago, today, my wife thought she lost her husband.
Fifteen years ago, today, my children thought they had lost their father.
Today is a celebration of the opportunity to have a tomorrow. The tomorrow so many pilots, so many military service members and so many first responders were not afforded...those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom and our way of life. A cause we believe so true and worthy.
In the years since that day, many questions pulsed through my psyche.
Why did this happen? Why did this happen now? Why did this happen to me?
But the most important and life-altering question: Why did I survive?
Over many sleepless nights across the fifteen years since that fateful twenty-five and one-quarter second flight, this last question has evolved and grown into a survivor’s obligation. One which drives in me a strong desire to write about my traumatic experience—to both understand it better myself and to utilize my experience to help others make sense of their own life-altering experiences. Over the past three years, I began putting pen to paper, working through my story alongside Joel “Thor” Neeb, a cancer survivor and fellow pilot, who also feels a similar survivor’s obligation to tell his story.
On this journey, we have helped one another through the evolving emotions of our individual journeys to enable growth from our experiences. Over recent months, we have been writing our thoughts down together and our manuscript has been accepted by Elva Resa Publishing. We are excited to share more about that very soon.
But these questions of why, and the results of our journey are not for today. Today is a celebration of life and living. On a day like this, we must remember that today is the result of experiences, actions and decisions of yesterday. Both the good times and the trying ones make us who we are. Tomorrow will be the product of today’s thoughts, goals, and desires. Don’t watch life go by and think of what could have been. Seize the day and the initiative, be proactive and realize what life can become.
Today is a celebration of life and living.
Today is a celebration of survival!
Live each day like it may be your last, because one day it will!
#SurvivorsObligation | #BeMoreDoMoreLiveMore
#LiveItEarnIt | #LifeintheMargins
15th Air Force Liaison to Air Combat Command at HQ ACC
6 年Glad you’re still here, spreading the good word, Elroy!
Founder | CLO @ Ascencio Learning LLC | Certified Instructional Technologist
6 年Chris - Thanks for sharing.? It is a great reminder that tomorrow is not promised to any of us.
After reading this, my immediate thought was? ... Wow, that experience has got to be a life changing (transformational) event!? Yes, thank God you survived; thank you for your service, and thank you for your continued service and influence with all the people you touch!
Senior Principal leading growth with ERP expertise at Cargas Systems
6 年Thanks for sharing Chris. Definitely words to live by.
Keynote Speaker/Veteran/Fleet Technical Instructor at United Airlines
6 年Excellent article! Forty-nine years ago I was microseconds away from becoming one with Monkey Mountain, and I've cherished (and thanked God!) every day since.?https://genolly.com/on-borrowed-time/