Serving Life Between Stars and Flowers

Around the world, the Happy Human is widely known and widely recognized. However, in the Dutch military, they wear a different crest. The reason is mostly just that that’s the way it has been for 50 years. The Dutch military has had Humanist Chaplains for that long and at that time, the Happy Human was not as well-adopted.

However, there is a very interesting story to the crest. We can see a star above a flower with a wreath. The wreath itself is a symbol of the military. There are 6 denominations recognized in the Dutch military (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, and Humanist). Depending on aesthetics/design, some have wreaths and some do not. The star and the flower hold the meaning, which is this:

Humanists seek meaning between the stars and the flowers.

That’s a simple statement that finds a way to be both beautiful and inspiring, especially with an image of Dutch tulips and a crisp winter sky in northern Europe. Looking closely at the plaque, there is also the motto of the Dutch Humanist chaplaincy.

Sui Reor, Simul Vita – Thinking for yourself, living together

Literally translated from Latin: “Our Thoughts, With Life.” Vita being people and Reor being not just thoughts but community ideas and community members. A more normal translation from the Latin to Dutch to English departs from the literal and reads: Serving the community and its people. Chaplain Kamp suggests the best translation is “thinking for ourselves, living together.”