We not shoot, you not shoot
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005
Hi all,
Yesterday the last British soldier who was present at the famous Christmas Truce in the First World War died.
You know, in the First World War there were trenches all across France, Belgium and Germany, in which millions of soldiers died just to gain a couple of miles of territory, only to loose them a month later. On of the most senseless destruction of human lives ever seen.
The trenches were often just hundreds of meters away from each other and from there the two sides attacked each other with just invented poison gas, machine guns, and other. In between was no man's land, a destroyed desert.
On Christmas morning 1914, on the German side the soldiers started singing
'Silent Night, Holy Night'.
Then a German soldier climbed out his trench, walked into no man's land, and said to the British:
"Merry Christmas. We not
shoot, you not shoot."
This started a spontaneous truce, which spread across the more than 700 kilometers of trenches. Soldiers climbed out of the trenches, shook hands with their official enemies, sang together and played soccer. German officers invited British officers into their tents for a glass of wine. A hairdresser would cut the hair of soldiers of both sides, in the middle of no man's land. On some places, the truce lasted several
weeks.
What this has to do with recovery? I don't know. I had to cry when I read this in today's newspaper. It shows me that although there is much evil in the world, most ordinary people only want to do the good thing.
A simple song about Christ can touch people's hearts and cause them to do incredible
wonderful things. This story about the Christmas Truce is world famous and has touched many more people than the unknown German soldier could ever imagined.
Anyway, after reading this I decided that I will stay sober for another 24 hours. It's day 12 today and this evening there is a meeting.
All the best to all of you,
Reprinted with permission from a Sex Addiction Recovery List I've belonged to for more than 4 years.
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This article is for informational purposes only.
Please contact a licensed professional in your area
if you are in crisis or require mental health services
David Bruce
Healthy Boundaries & Victim Behavior
