The concept of welcoming home our loyal soldiers is a metaphor that works on both individual and group or cultural levels. The concept stems, in part, from the story of various Japanese soldiers who were stranded in remote locations during World War II. The war ended, but due to their isolation, these soldiers did not know that the war was over and thus continued to exert their loyalty and fight the war, if only in their minds.

When some of these soldiers were eventually found — for some, many years later — their abject loyalty and disbelief that the war had ended (and not in Japan's favor) put them in the position of being an embarrassment, but also at risk of losing their sense of honor. To help them avoid that humiliation, Japan formally welcomed these soldiers home, honoring their service and loyalty, which helped these soldiers to come into present time and find new purpose in a changed world.

On an individual level, some psychologists believe that each person has his or her mental "loyal soldiers" who did valiant duty and were of service during various parts of the individual's life. But as time went on and the individual grew and developed, the usefulness of these loyal soldiers grew outdated and even threatened to sabotage the individual's potential and continued growth. In acknowledging and welcoming home one's loyal soldiers, we help to acclimate potential "inner allies" who can still be valuable to us (and help us be of service to the greater world) if they, too, reorient and come into present time.

At a cultural level — particularly in a world where war is unfortunately looked upon as a normal, necessary or even (for some) a "profitable" occurrence — the concept of welcoming home our loyal soldiers is not just a question or nicety, but a moral and spiritual responsibility.

As military service men and women return from Iraq or Afghanistan, for instance, how do we welcome them home? Many return physically wounded or maimed, but all who have seen war have psychological, emotional, and spiritual scars that must also be tenderly addressed and compassionately cared for. Do we do our very best in welcoming home our warriors — regardless of our opinions of any given war effort ? Do we help them heal their spiritual as well as their psychological and physical scars?

Past experience would tell us "no, we do not" do an admirable job of welcoming home our loyal warriors. This is not only at the heart of issues such as the dastardly and deceptive cutting or limiting of VA funding and the benefits available to soldiers and their families, but also a crucial question in the face of issues such as outsourcing, a propensity to value individuality and independence to a fault, an inclination of people not wanting to really see the real effects of war on the people who are most affected by it, a focus in "health care" to address the physical symptom while ignoring the mind-body-spirit connection, and an inability for most individuals to be compassionate and empathetic witnesses who can listen deeply and be a spiritually healing presence.

In modern cultures, returning warriors might be welcomed with news interviews, yellow ribbons, waving flags, hails for patiotism and bravery, and of course the gladness and relief of family members. These can surely be wonderful expressions of welcome, but they work on the superficial, ego-based level, not the spiritual level. The deeper healing doesn't take place for many of our returning "loyal soldiers," because it requires more people to face — with the same bravery the soldier had to face the war itself — the unpleasant realities of war and the fact that its effect lingers long after the soldier returns home.

In ancient cultures, a warrior who was returning home from war would stop first at the temple, where with the help of the temple priestesses they would participate in a ritual cleansing, healing, and rededication. The spiritual wounds of war — of killing others and being instruments of violence, and seeing others be killed and maimed — was openly acknowledged and the healing of it was a priority. It was assumed that such things wounded mind and spirit as well as body. No matter how just the war or brave and valiant the soldier, the harsh effects of war were also recognized openly, and thus more opened to true healing.

Honoring our loyal warriors requires nothing less of us, and surely much more.