What My Worst Enemy Taught Me About Gratitude
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Jim Enderle |
TEDxBismarck
• August 2021
While deployed to Iraq as a Navy Hospital Corpsman, an al-Qaeda militant we detained revealed he'd somehow obtained an envelope with my family's address. In the chaos of a rocket and mortar attack, I went to his compound to confront him but found him in his final moments instead. Close enough to hear each other's breathing, we stood there, our facial expressions softened before he died. Later, I asked my interpreter if I could know more about the militant and he provided the translated letters to and from his loved ones. After a difficult transition home after the deployment resulted in family separation and other troubles, I began to read the letters in my desperate quest to put my life back in order. If a path to a better life were provided and reconciliation were assured, would I listen if this path came from my worst enemy?