The Sky’s the limit

Yesterday I watched an amazing movie, Taking Chance. It is based on the story of the last journey of Lance Corporal Chance Phelps.
“Lance Corporal Chance Phelps (USMC) was just nineteen years old when he was killed during active duty. Now, as Lance Corporal Phelps is prepared for his final journey back home, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl (USMC) makes it his personal mission to ensure that his fallen brother is laid to rest with the proper respect.”
It was one of the most moving movies I have seen in a long time.
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl was too senior for the job of escorting Chance. Yet he requested that he be assigned the task. The movie contained shots of the bodies and belongings of the soldiers killed in action being cleaned with utmost care at the mortuary. These shots were presented in the most sensitive manner. They depicted how much respect and reverence the personnel in the mortuary had for the fallen heroes. Bringing back the bodies of the fallen heroes had become a routine and everyone at various airports knew the solemn duty the escorting officer was performing. The airline crew, the loaders on the tarmac, the passengers disembarking from the aircraft ladder, and even the drivers of vehicles on the highway paid their respects silently. All through the journey Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl remained next to the casket. He even refused to sleep in a motel during a layover and instead preferred to sleep on the floor in the aircraft hanger, on a blanket provided by a loader, right next to the casket.
The movie left a deep impact on me because unlike most other movies that depict wars, this movie showcases a very touching aspect of a soldier’s life- the last journey of a fallen hero.
Through this entire journey, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strob does not miss a single moment to be on guard. At every point when the box containing. Chance’ casket was being moved either on the road or at various airports, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strob stood in attention to give a guard of honor. The reactions of everyday people to this fallen hero were captured with subtlety and without any drama.
After watching this movie I developed immense respect for all soldiers- regardless of which country they belong to.
Though they are commanded to defend the border and the airspace of their nation and to defeat their enemy, what soldiers really defend is the dignity and sacredness of their motherland. They give their life in gratitude to their motherland. The relationship between a soldier and his land is that of a mother and her child.
A couple of months ago, when I was writing an article about my mother, I became aware that the very sound of the word “mother”- no matter whose mother she maybe- evokes a universal sense of gratitude. The expression of reverence to a mother by a child evokes a universal sense of appreciation. In the same spirit, watching the final journey of Chance and the reactions of people along the way, made me realize that in his martyrdom people saw an ultimate expression of gratitude to his mother.
I started thinking about my own sense of gratitude towards the land of my birth (India) and the land where my professional talent blossomed (the USA). I realized that like a migrating bird my relationship with the land and the sky is not constrained by the geographic boundaries nor by my affinity to the identity of the people who look and speak like me.
I began to wonder why we divide the sky and the land into territories and fight over them, when in fact for a free-spirited, curious, adventurous. and the creative people the phrase ”sky’s the limit” actually means there is no limit to our imagination and spirit of exploration.
Imagine, a. future where we teach our children to not let the geographical boundaries limit their aspiration. We would teach them that the abundant spread of the sky and the land was meant to inspire them to explore the opportunities beyond the horizon. We would also teach them that they must remain grateful to every land that nurtured their dreams and allowed them to enrich their lives. In such a future we would not fight over boundaries and territories because for a curious and adventurous person “The Sky’s the limit”.

