new found respect...SOLDIERS!

I played Paintball with my friends just this afternoon..The game was fun, the objective was to eliminate all members of the other group using your gun powered by an airtank using paitnballs as bullets.when u get hit, u just walk away from the action and wait for the next round..at least thats the idea. I started the game by first hiding behind the positioned tires then went to the "woods" to find a more suitable hiding place..

As the game progressed, i also had several realizations of my own. i was starting to ask myself questions like, what if these are real bullets and not just paintballs..what if these are real guns powered by gun powder.what if im in a real combat situation..what if i was a soldier. then the thought of being as soldier made me laugh..because i always hear stories about how soldiers who are toughened by trainings in camps become cowards during real battles..
Being me, i continued playing..but as the action in the game became fiercer, my thoughts became harder to ignore. (what if these are real bullets and not just paintballs..what if these are real guns powered by gun powder.what if im in a real combat situation..what if i was a soldier)..

so when i got hit, i stepped back and watched my friends play and also took time to reflect on my thoughts.

i had to admit, i felt ashamed of myself for laughing at jokes pertaining to soldiers..
its not easy being them!..

imagine, i know that what we are using are only paintballs yet i still feel scared thinking about how it would feel if i got hit..the endless effort to find a good hiding place disorients me..the gun im using is not heavy im telling you but it makes moving around difficult for me.
now, how hard can that be compared to the situation our soldiers face during combats. .

i am not trying to say that we cannot criticize our brave soldiers, what im trying to say is that the next time we think of making fun or make harsh comments about soldiers, we should really stop and ask ourselves.."what have i done to have the right to dishonor soldiers?"..
because honestly, i have not done anything as noble as what soldiers are doing and will do for the remaining days of their lives..have you?