Peacing Us Together
Donation protected
Hi, my name is Lisa...
27 YEARS AGO… ON MARCH 21, 1991 MY HUSBAND, LTJG MARTIN "BRAD" COX WAS KILLED in a training exercise off the coast of San Diego when two P3-Orion's had a mid-air collision in stormy conditions.
HE WAS 27 YEARS OLD. 27 AIRMAN DIED THAT DAY and it changed the lives of everyone they knew in profound ways, including me. On that day, and for quite some time following, I wasn’t sure I wanted to have a life, let alone, figure out how to make mine count. But I had made a promise…
ONE WEEK BEFORE THE ACCIDENT Brad and I were at dinner discussing the renewal of my sales contract with the company I was working for at the time. Here I was, about to be 24, about to realize a huge pay increase with a new client, and yet, I was completely unhappy and unfulfilled with the work.
BRAD ENCOURAGED ME TO TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH. He told me he loved being a Navy pilot but even if he changed his mind tomorrow, it wouldn’t matter, he had 6 years to pay back for his education at the United States Naval Academy. (1988) Then he said the words that I’ve never been able to let go…
”YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO START OVER. DON'T WASTE IT.” Neither of us could’ve known how poignant those words would turn out to be. He had no idea the extent to which I’d be faced with starting over, nor how his words would stick with me every single time I considered going back to the corporate world; to chase security instead of passion and purpose.
FOR 27 YEARS… I heard his words “Don’t waste it.” I never knew back then how truly blessed I was to have someone believe in me and support my dreams even when I was too afraid. It’s haunted me all these years… the truth is, I suspect I would’ve taken the big fat increase in salary, and I would’ve played it “safe” like I always had. Funny thing is, your sense of security gets questioned when the person you love goes to work and never comes home.
AND SOMETIMES IT TAKES YOU 27 YEARS TO STOP BEING AFRAID.
“AND THE DAY CAME…” On January 19, 2018 it was the 27th anniversary of Brad’s 27th, and final, birthday. This is the year he will have been gone as long as he ever got to be here. If that doesn’t make one stop and think… What have I done with that time? 27 years, his entire lifetime. Have I been wasting it? What does not wasting it look like? How am I making this journey, my life, count? How are any of us?
TO COMMEMORATE THEIR LIVES, KEEP A SACRED PROMISE I MADE, AND TO NURTURE INDIVIDUAL HEALING, I have decided not to waste one more day. I’m making my purpose my priority. I may not know what that fully looks like, but I do know I’m passionate about connecting with people - creating meaningful engagement that nurtures peace, purpose, and joy in each of us. I decided I’m going to start here...
I’M TRAVELING TO 27 PLACES AROUND THE WORLD. One place for each year Brad got. One for each of the men whose lives were cut short that day. One for each of the years it took for me to move through my own grief, anger and fear. I’m connecting with others whose experiences through tragedy, loss, adversity, or circumstance have moved them to inspired action.
OH THE PLACES WE’LL GO!!!! as Dr. Suess would say. I have no idea what this journey will look like or where I will end up. Connection is as authentic as it is predictable.
We will connect through meaningful engagement: (To be fully captured and shared in an expressive multi-media project.)
~ Interviews and Conversations
~ Creative Expression and Play
~ Spontaneous Interaction
HAVE A SAY IN THE JOURNEY. I can’t do it without your help. Share. Donate. Tell me where to go. (I can handle it.) Join me in making it count: Let’s not waste another day.
WHEN WE CONNECT IN RAW, REAL, AND COURAGEOUS WAYS, WE KNOW LOVE. WE KNOW PEACE. And I don’t know about you, but I think there are a lot of us in the world today who could use a little more of that.
AFTER 27 YEARS I’m doing just that.
Please join me.
FUNDING DETAILS: As we establish locations we’ll create trip budgets and add to funding requests accordingly.
Project # 1: $2,700
27 YEARS AGO… ON MARCH 21, 1991 MY HUSBAND, LTJG MARTIN "BRAD" COX WAS KILLED in a training exercise off the coast of San Diego when two P3-Orion's had a mid-air collision in stormy conditions.
HE WAS 27 YEARS OLD. 27 AIRMAN DIED THAT DAY and it changed the lives of everyone they knew in profound ways, including me. On that day, and for quite some time following, I wasn’t sure I wanted to have a life, let alone, figure out how to make mine count. But I had made a promise…
ONE WEEK BEFORE THE ACCIDENT Brad and I were at dinner discussing the renewal of my sales contract with the company I was working for at the time. Here I was, about to be 24, about to realize a huge pay increase with a new client, and yet, I was completely unhappy and unfulfilled with the work.
BRAD ENCOURAGED ME TO TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH. He told me he loved being a Navy pilot but even if he changed his mind tomorrow, it wouldn’t matter, he had 6 years to pay back for his education at the United States Naval Academy. (1988) Then he said the words that I’ve never been able to let go…
”YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO START OVER. DON'T WASTE IT.” Neither of us could’ve known how poignant those words would turn out to be. He had no idea the extent to which I’d be faced with starting over, nor how his words would stick with me every single time I considered going back to the corporate world; to chase security instead of passion and purpose.
FOR 27 YEARS… I heard his words “Don’t waste it.” I never knew back then how truly blessed I was to have someone believe in me and support my dreams even when I was too afraid. It’s haunted me all these years… the truth is, I suspect I would’ve taken the big fat increase in salary, and I would’ve played it “safe” like I always had. Funny thing is, your sense of security gets questioned when the person you love goes to work and never comes home.
AND SOMETIMES IT TAKES YOU 27 YEARS TO STOP BEING AFRAID.
“AND THE DAY CAME…” On January 19, 2018 it was the 27th anniversary of Brad’s 27th, and final, birthday. This is the year he will have been gone as long as he ever got to be here. If that doesn’t make one stop and think… What have I done with that time? 27 years, his entire lifetime. Have I been wasting it? What does not wasting it look like? How am I making this journey, my life, count? How are any of us?
TO COMMEMORATE THEIR LIVES, KEEP A SACRED PROMISE I MADE, AND TO NURTURE INDIVIDUAL HEALING, I have decided not to waste one more day. I’m making my purpose my priority. I may not know what that fully looks like, but I do know I’m passionate about connecting with people - creating meaningful engagement that nurtures peace, purpose, and joy in each of us. I decided I’m going to start here...
I’M TRAVELING TO 27 PLACES AROUND THE WORLD. One place for each year Brad got. One for each of the men whose lives were cut short that day. One for each of the years it took for me to move through my own grief, anger and fear. I’m connecting with others whose experiences through tragedy, loss, adversity, or circumstance have moved them to inspired action.
OH THE PLACES WE’LL GO!!!! as Dr. Suess would say. I have no idea what this journey will look like or where I will end up. Connection is as authentic as it is predictable.
We will connect through meaningful engagement: (To be fully captured and shared in an expressive multi-media project.)
~ Interviews and Conversations
~ Creative Expression and Play
~ Spontaneous Interaction
HAVE A SAY IN THE JOURNEY. I can’t do it without your help. Share. Donate. Tell me where to go. (I can handle it.) Join me in making it count: Let’s not waste another day.
WHEN WE CONNECT IN RAW, REAL, AND COURAGEOUS WAYS, WE KNOW LOVE. WE KNOW PEACE. And I don’t know about you, but I think there are a lot of us in the world today who could use a little more of that.
AFTER 27 YEARS I’m doing just that.
Please join me.
FUNDING DETAILS: As we establish locations we’ll create trip budgets and add to funding requests accordingly.
Project # 1: $2,700
Organizer
Lisa Ford Eberlein
Organizer
Denver, CO