TRUE DETECTIVE SOARS TO SPIRITUAL HEIGHTS

Matthew McConaughey (Rust Cohle), left, and Woody Harrelson ( Marty Hart) played partners in Louisiana on the HBO series “True Detective.” Credit Lacey Terrell/HBO

 Seldom have I seen a television series as brilliantly accomplished as HBO's True Detective. It seemed that Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson inspired each other to new heights of character development. Essentially this series was about the fall and redemption of two morally fallen detectives who both reconnected to the love that was deepest within themselves in the final episode ~ after almost being killed ~ both saving each other while bonding with each other at a soul level in the process: Allen L Roland

 

Having worked with combat veterans with PTSD for over 4 years, many of whom were taught to kill and many with major issues of guilt, sadness and unworthiness ~ virtually all had strong bonds with their fellow warriors since all had faced the darkness and survived but had bonded with each other in the process. By touching their hearts, in my work, through gratefulness, they began to realize that those who they loved deeply were still part of them and especially their fellow warriors who did not make it ~ but were still gifts in their life.

 

True detective featured two battle hardened detectives, who could have well been two combat soldiers, who learned to accept and love each other while risking their lives together against a common enemy ~ who almost killed them before they each saved each other at the risk of their own life.

 

Of important note, as revealed in Episode 8, Marty and Rust both discovered what lay beneath their guilt and sadness issues and it was love as well as the truth of Teilhard's words ~  "Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as to complete and fulfill them for it alone takes them and joins them to what is deepest within themselves."

 

Both Rust and Marty , as Alessandra Stanley wrote in her New York Times review, "found meaning in life by almost dying. Marty discovered new purpose through friendship ~ sealed with the gift of Camel cigarettes. The show is called “True Detective,” but at the end it was true love that prevailed.” http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/10/arts/television/true-detective-finds-philosophical-answers-by-seasons-end.html?emc=eta1

 

To me, it was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with Robert Redford and Paul Newman, but they didn't have to go down in a hail of bullets to find true redemption ~  for they found it deepest within themselves.

 

Here's the ending of Season 1, Episode 8, the finale of first season ~ 8 minute video

Marty and Rust have their last conversation ~ complete with credits and the last song that's played.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVlrNKtFLbM

 

Rust comments on his near-death experience: "There was a moment, I know when I was under in the dark, that something… whatever I'd been reduced to, not even consciousness, just a vague awareness in the dark ~ I could feel my definitions fading. And beneath that consciousness there was another kind ~ it was a deeper form ~ like a substance.

I could feel man, I knew my daughter waited for me, there.

So clear, I could feel her. I could feel …  could feel the peace of my Pop, too.  

It was like I was part of everything I have ever loved, and we were all, the three of us, just fading out. And all I had to do was let go, man.

And I did ~ I said ' Darkness, yeah' and I disappeared… but I could still feel her love there ~ even more than before ~ nothing but that love. And then I woke up …. ………… there's just one story, the oldest … light versus dark."

Marty attentively listens and comments as he looks into the night sky ~ that it appears the dark is winning but Rust is obviously now seeing through different eyes ~  "If you ask me, I think the light is winning" were Rust's final words to Marty as he looks at the night sky while being illegally wheeled away from the hospital by a willing,  accepting and loving Marty.

And guess what, the light is indeed winning ~ as I well know.

 I have surrendered to the paralyzing weight of fear (and apparent death) twice ~ once as a Navy fighter pilot apparently stalling out after a night cat shot and later in life when everything I cherished was violently taken away and there was nowhere to turn. Both times I found a deep source of direction and strength within myself as well as a subtle but profound sense that my life was being divinely guided as long as I remained in heartfelt service.

 We all have angels in our life and we must continually be grateful for their being and presence. Marty and Rust found one in each other ~ thus in the end, true detectives became true friends.

 

Allen L Roland
http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2014/03/true-detective-soars-to-spiritual.html


Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and transformational counselor Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private Skype consultations allen@allenroland.com

 

Allen L Roland is also a lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his web log and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRU

EAST COUNTY PEER TO PEER BAND OF BROTHERS / A DREAM BECOMES REALITY

Click on photo to enlarge

Blue Star mother Josie Monaghan surrounded by her all era veteran brothers and sisters.

Blue Star mother Josie Monaghan's dream of creating a veterans resource center as well as an all era veterans peer-to-peer group which meets and breaks bread with each other every Wednesday, with commonality, camaraderie and mutual sharing being the empowering agenda, has become a reality in Antioch, California: Allen L Roland

Heart felt authenticity, commonality and camaraderie are the bedrock of veterans rehabilitation.

As an active duty Navy veteran, as well as the facilitator of eleven extremely successful East Bay heart centered combat veteran transformation workshops (which effectively utilized peer to peer sharing, commonality and camaraderie in the self-healing process) over the past three years ~ Veterans, which include myself, often miss the deep bonds of authentic commonality and camaraderie that exist between fellow veterans who have all faced their inner and outer fears and demons in accomplishing their service to their country.

Blue Star mother Josie Monaghan, proud mother of a USMC combat veteran, sensed this community veteran need and created in 2010 a new alternative for returning veterans and their families with the ultimate goal of a drop-in veterans recreation center where workshops and peer to peer events could take place at any time.

Originally located in a small veterans thrift shop in downtown Antioch, California the rapidly growing non-profit community organization now includes an adjacent veterans antique store as well as a recently leased veterans recreation center ~ which now provides a space for workshops and the informal peer-to-peer Wednesday night veterans dinner meetings ~ where all war era veterans are welcomed to attend.

Josie holding forth in her Antioch thrift shop

Josie Monaghan is the Vet blue star angel mother behind this working dream ~ whose vision, relentless energy and giant heart has drawn others, such as myself, to volunteer their services to help make her East County Veterans heart centered dream come true.  See February 2013 Veterans Today article ~

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/02/20/josie-monaghan-vet-mother-angel-of-antioch-california/

Navy Veteran Jim Marchetti, Peer to Peer spokesperson, speaks movingly about what this ongoing group means to him ~ "East County Veterans is an organization like no other I’ve seen to date and it rises above any experience I have had since leaving the Navy in 1992. I stumbled across the thrift store first about a year ago and met Josie. We’ve been great friends ever since and the camaraderie and special connection I have with other veterans is something I get to share every week. The fact that this is a community based, independent organization is terrific and It alleviates all of the bureaucracy and other overhead in so many other organizations. Having a resource center is great ~ it is a place that is fun and safe for veterans from all eras and branches of service. I only wish more places around the country had a person like Josie to spearhead such a vision. The friends here are already my lifelong friends and I feel like I have known them for decades. I love my fellow service members and am so incredibly thankful that Josie had this vision, this dream, of providing a place where we can truly commune with our brothers and sisters who served."

Being real, commonality and camaraderie are the free flowing magic of this Veteran's Peer to Peer Oasis for the spirit tucked into the corner of L and 2nd Street in Antioch, California ~ about 100 yards away from the Marina and the cool breezes from the Delta.

It has certainly been proven with veterans elsewhere that heart felt peer to peer authenticity and realness fosters both commonality and camaraderie which in turn supports self-healing from the seen and unseen ravages of war ~ see 2 minute video on the veteran being real game.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVvkQQC5rU0

To many of these veterans, including myself, being real is not a game but instead a way of life and a  loving place to come home to as 12 year Army female veteran TaiAri explains ~ " When I got out of the Army and moved back home I did not have a job or any friends. I felt hopeless and alone. Then one day I happened to meet someone who was talking about the East County Veterans' Center. I got involved and met Josie, our founder. Immediately, Josie and I had a connection and I knew I had found my second home. I am now a key group member at the Center and I am the Community Outreach Coordinator. I look forward to our many events, and especially our Wednesday night peer-to-peer groups, because these guys are my family. I finally feel that camaraderie I missed so much. I have a connection with my guys that civilians will never be able to understand. We share so much with each other; we participate in events together, and this is all because of Josie. She is our mother, our rock, and she has made this happen for us and allowed us to all come together. There is no other place in the East Bay like our Center and I plan to be a part of it for years to come. I couldn't imagine my life without it."

Long time Air force Veteran Sean loves the informality of the center with its pool table and veterans pictures hanging on the wall ~ " I feel comfortable around the other veterans talking about fun things, hobbies, current events and world events. What I really like is how the center participates in local events and is an integral part of the community."

As for myself, a five year active duty Navy veteran, I love the commonality, mutual respect and camaraderie that exists at the peer to peer veterans Wednesday dinner meetings. There is no agenda ~ but instead there is a genuine affection for each other that permeates this heart centered peer to peer group and especially toward our visionary founder and Blue star mother Josie Monaghan, who we regard as an honorary veteran ~ for we have all enlisted in her dream.

If you live in the East County listen to what fellow member Jeremy says ~ "The reason I joined this particular veterans group was because I missed the camaraderie I experienced in the military. I wanted to link up with some individuals that had/have experienced situations similar to my own. I was welcomed with open arms when I was introduced to this group and I’m happy I made the decision to join this group.  If you’re a veteran I encourage you to join us and I look forward to meeting you soon."  

Josie recently suffered the death of her brother in Chicago and when she returned to Antioch she realized that she had gained a dozen more brothers and sisters who lovingly welcomed her back to her family ~ that she had created.

For more information call Jim Marchetti (925) 642-0791 or Josie Monaghan at (925) 642-7537.     

There's a difference between camaraderie and normal friendship. In friendship, the individualism of the different people is accepted and helps the friendship; in camaraderie the thing that brings people together is commonality: All Quiet on the Western Front ~ where camaraderie is Remarque's main theme.

Allen L Roland

http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/east-county-peer-to-peer-band-of.html

Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and psychotherapist Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private Skype consultations (allen@allenroland.com )

Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his web log and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net