As a write this my son (Navy), my brother-in-law (Army) and nephew (Navy)…two of whom are in Iraq and Afghanistan serve with the global forces deployed in harms way. I cannot really imagine what their days are like…and I have a very vivid imagination. My brother-in-law is due to come home after a second tour shortly, assuming they don’t decide to keep him longer again…which they have done twice. As I was annoyed that I am having some post-op nausea and gas, I thought about what their days must be like in some of the most difficult places in the world. Needless to say, I was a bit ashamed of myself. However, I must say thank god for sugar free Jell-O…but I digress. The band if tough there is not free ride, but our time in bandster hell is a pittance compared to what our forces across the world face, or the horror going on in Hatti today.

As I thought about this, I hope we can all keep some perspective on what is going on across the world, not just our individual part of it. Sometimes folks find despair in the limits of their success with the band, but it is not the only important thing in life or the world. I am not saying we should not vent and look for help and support from the folks here on the LBT forums. Just remember that our struggles with the band, plateaus in weight loss and side effects are real problems, but they are eminently solvable, by just little-old-us. Many of our family and friends are fighting bigger fights, and solving bigger problems. If you and I focus on that then we can make the band work and understand that perspective is as wonderful a tool for our problems and the band is for waistlines. So perspective is free, and can be customized by everyone as a vital resource in the band journey…so help yourself to all you want.

Beautiful...agreed.