When one is Oscar Mike
When one is Oscar Mike or “on mission,” things outside of the mission are superfluous, and they bear diminishing importance to the mission. The mission is paramount; there are only two options in that regard: things that support the mission or things that do not support said mission. A mission is a singular thing that a person can point to one thing that meets and satisfies a life goal or an attainable outcome; this must be focused on single-mindedly. I can tell when someone has one, I can also tell when someone does not. My mission is simple. I have 3 grandsons that need adult supervision. “Mentorship.” Their mom (my daughter) stepdaughter, to be precise. Personally, I make no distinction between either one is a son/ daughter or not. I had stepbrothers but never thought of them that way. They were my brothers. My goal is to see those 3 boys make it to become productive men. Teaching them the things that I have painfully learned through challenging experiences, thus, avoiding the fate I brought upon myself. I see them as my redemption for a life not lived well. I cannot guarantee the outcome, but I can guarantee the effort in that direction.
Through different circumstances, the boys have found themselves in a situation where adult leadership through their family is complex at best. With problems with family members creating the present situation with my grandson’s parents/grandparents. The kindest way to discuss this is to state that they are products of the experiences passed down the genetic line. As an interested 3rd party, I entered the picture when the eldest was in a car seat, the middle child in vitro, and the youngest was just an imagination. It was an answer to a prayer that I made years earlier when contemplating a permanent solution to a temporary problem. I asked, “God if you give me this one more chance, I promise to do my best not to mess it up this time. Upon seeing the kid in the car seat in the back of a car with a flat tire, one of 4 totally bald tires on the woman's car that would become my wife. I knew what it was when I saw it. It was the answer to my prayer for another chance. Over the next year, I broke connections with the various individuals I had previously associated with. And a year later, I asked the grandmother to be my wife. I had to overcome the person I had become and evolve into more like the person I continue to strive to be. There remains a lot of luggage that has to be dealt with, but it has been getting better daily.
Being Oscar Mike requires focus, and that focus is inward, not outward. I had to get into better physical condition. As I went from a max weight of close to 380lbs, I am now closer to 215. That is because to complete the mission, I have to be alive. Being on mission, I had to get my financial house in order (which is a work in progress) during the moving process moving 4 times in 24 months. I found myself having to start my life over. I sent a spouse ahead to the new area, moved to an apartment, and sold a house. I finally moved cross country to a rental home and then bought another home (in a crazy housing market). Finally, moving to my present home and then retired. This was challenging. It was a new start.
Being Oscar Mike is to work on becoming
a better version of myself than I have ever been. I am an introvert. I do not
move in the realm of emotion. As a practicing Stoic (which is another story for another time) led me back to my Christian roots. Knowing that I am not in control of the
outcome of things, I am only in control of my efforts in that direction. I believe emotional decisions lead to
wrong results, but carefully thought-out consequences come from fewer emotional
decisions. Suppose someone approaches me with a passionate illogical argument. In that case, I dismiss them out of hand until I have had
a chance to decide thoughtfully. Not to
say I am devoid of emotion, I avoid them because they are harmful to me in the
long run (at least the negative ones). I do not watch what I call “Loser TV” You
know, the ones who have this Judge whatever, whoever, and you are not the father. I don’t need to be reminded of how much people
in certain aspects of life suck at being people. Watching this over an extended period
rots the brain. By the same token, I do not watch the news. If I want a dose of fear, I know where to find it on my own. To put it simply, this is what I think of the
news media (“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall
have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the
second death.”) Revelation 21:8
Being Oscar Mike allows one to focus
on the outcome instead of the nagging incidences of the present. I do not fear
individual dogs (with certain exceptions), but I fear the pack. People in groups have a dynamic
that overrides self-interest in favor of the group interest. That’s why people
are divided into haves and have-nots as a means of control or manipulation. When
I was in the country's service, it was about the guy next to me, the one I did not want to let down. Duty
and country only go so far. The man next to you that you will help that’s important
From my spiritual perspective, being Oscar Mike means that
it is not my will that has preeminence, and it is the mission that has priority. I have plenty of things that I can do for my benefit but are not conducive to the overall goal or mission. State it in simple terms, as in 1st Corinthians
10: 23, 24 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not
everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything
is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.”
Being Oscar Mike is “complicated.” but it simply is finding something outside of yourself that will make one better and more suited to the task or fit for use or purpose. A mission where all things lead to the one thing, the stated goal. My stated goal is to see my grandsons become good men. I can’t guarantee that will happen; however, it won't be because I neglected to take action.
