Back during the Vietnam war, there was a very successful fighter jet pilot with amazing success rates. We are talking about 65 out of 65 successful missions. Like all good things, it had to come to an end and on the 66th mission his plane was shot down by enemy anti aircraft guns. Thankfully, he managed to hit the eject button in time and parachuted out of the burning jet. Unfortunately he landed in enemy zone and spent the subsequent 8 years as a prisoner of war (not a very nice thing despite the free board and lodging). Guts, patience and a whole lot of prayer helped him survive the ordeal. He now lectures on the lessons learned from the horrible experience.
One fine afternoon, while having lunch with his wife in a normal down town restaurant, a man about the same age as him walked up to his table and said, "You're Jeff right? You flew the F-4 Phantom nicknamed the Thundering Hawk! You were shot down!". Startled, Jeff asked, "how on earth did you know that?" "I packed your parachute," replied the man.
Jeff was surprised and was feeling a gush of gratitude deep down. The man was very proud of himself and said, "I guess it worked!" Jeff assured him, "If it weren't for the chute you packed for me back then, I wouldn't be here enjoying my shepard's pie at this very day."
That night, Jeff kept tossing and turning in bed. He kept thinking to himself, "Who was he? How would he have looked like in a Navy uniform: white hat, bib in the back, and bell bottom trouser." He kept thinking, thinking and thinking but that man simply did not ring a bell. Jeff let out a long sigh, "I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said hi or good morning, how are you or anything like that. Back then, I was the pilot and he was but a sailor."
Jeff pondered the long hours the sailor had spent under the ship, checking the parachute stitch by stitch to make sure there was no puncture, folding the parachute to precision otherwise the chute would never open mid-air, in his hands the very parachute that could mean a pilot could live on to see his family or die in a plane crash; the very life of someone he never knew.
Now, give yourself about 10 minutes to digest what I have written above (by the way, the story is something I came up with so don't go Googling for Jeff and some plane called Thundering Hawk). Digested the literature? Now ask yourself this - "Who's packing your parachute?"
You may not realise it, but you, me and everyone has someone who provides what we need to pull through the day. You may not realise it but Jeff needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory - he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety. Although Jeff maybe a fictional character but, we should be prepared for any challenges ahead but recognise this one fact - you can't go through it alone. As you go through this week, this month, this year... recognise people who pack your parachute!
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