Boots on the ground “started out as a military term, but has slowly made its way into our general use of idioms. It basically means instead of fighting the war from the top down (air strikes), it will be fought from (below) having troops on the ground. I love this idiom. I’ve been thinking about it in the context of society and to a much broader extent – our world. Although laws and policies come from the top down (politicians), in actuality, their job is to take their cue from us; your everyday average working, tax paying folk. In other words we would be considered the “boots on the ground” people. Too many people are at odds with our country’s leadership, our city’s leadership, corporate leadership, church leadership, etc. It’s frustrating to feel like one entity holds all the power, which can override the power of our own voice. We all want to be heard! No one wants to feel put upon by anyone else, least not the “higher ups” so to speak. This frustration is evident in all the bickering, intolerance, prejudice, Facebook banter and harsh comments. Friends are being separated because of their viewpoints and mature people are reducing themselves to middle school like behavior. Have we forgotten that we are the “boots on the ground”? We can’t allow our frustrations to override our better judgment. We have the power of our voice and our behavior and our influence. We have the power of unity! Just as the military uses a collective force from the ground to accomplish an objective, which then gives rise to their superiors for the next strategic step, we are figuratively in the very same position. By being the change we want to see, we can influence another person and so on and so. We gather momentum and strength, which speaks to those in charge and influences them as well. Oh yes, we do have protests that are trying to accomplish the same thing, and they are helpful when they are done maturely, and frustrations are under control. A wise old king named Solomon, wrote a proverb that reads: One who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and one who rules their own spirit, better than one who captures a city. (Proverbs 16:32) #Bootsontheground #slowtoanger #powerofavoice #united #beagoodinfluence #Rewardscoaching #lifecoach

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