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Author Larry Turner is a US Army veteran and twenty-six-year law enforcement officer. In September 2018, he attended Save A Warrior Cohort 058.
 
Save A Warrior and the National Center of Excellence for Complex-PTS, is an evidence-based intervention and proven solution for active duty military, returning veterans, and first responders struggling with Complex-PTS, which is the leading cause of the suicide epidemic facing America’s frontline warriors.

In Franco The Succulent, Larry has an amusingly unconventional conversation with Franco, a succulent that adorns his office. In the conversation that unfolds, Larry describes the spiritual awakening that occurred during the cohort, and shares some of the wisdom he found on the path of recovery that followed in his journey out of insanity. 

Awareness of Spirit
 
When I became aware of my own spirit, that shifted my entire life experience suddenly.[DC1]
 
I became aware of who I am inside this meat puppet, and it’s as if I suddenly became aware of an entirely different universe. It’s as if I were suddenly just born in that universe, and it was my first day. It was very exciting, and I was filled with wonder, just as I was when I was born in the physical universe.
 
I became aware that there was the universe that I already knew of on the front side of my eyeballs. Now I was instantly aware of the universe on the other side of my eyeballs. I was actually the ball of energy that was animating this meat puppet. That was my spirit. It resides here, in this universe inside me. The ball of energy that is me had only been focused on the world on the front my entire life. That universe had its set of rules to live by and its commerce system of rewards to adhere to.
  Here, in the spiritual realm, the rules were very different. The things that were important in life, along with what was not significant, were almost completely different. In this new universe, I could be a very wealthy person. I merely had to redefine my definition of wealth.

Franco: “Well, that’s rather convenient, don’t you think?”

Me: “Franco, would you rather be right, or would you rather be happy? You may choose only one.”

Franco: “I thought the two were connected.”

Me: “That’s an illusion in the societal thinking of the physical world. Often the two choices are in stark contrast to one another. The cult of culture we are raised in teaches us that we always want to be right, valid, and justified in all of our choices, lest we be shamed as a fool. Fear of shame thwarts finding true happiness. So which is it that you choose? To be right, or to be happy? If it helps, I will advise you that no one that has chosen happiness over being right has ever reported back to me that they’ve regretted making such a decision. See, the epiphany they discover after making such a choice is that when they find happiness, being right doesn’t even matter.

“Here’s another one. Would you rather have vast material wealth or internal peace of mind and heart? You can choose only one.”

Franco: “I thought finding material wealth would bring me peace.”