Being a Warrior doesn’t mean winning or even succeeding. It means risking and failing and risking again, as long as you live…” ~Richard Heckler, In Search of the Warrior Spirit
Are you a Warrior? What comes to your mind when you think of that word?
Is it the battle cry of armies racing into battle for causes greater than their own lives? Is it mighty sacrifice, the greatest of all-love-laid on the line for the needs and lives of others? Is it the ability to overcome the odds, continue on in the face of defeat, never say die, never say quit? When pushed to action, where is the warrior within you? What does it take to sound your battle cry?
Does it have to be a last straw that gets you going or are you marching on every day, battling the villains that would keep you from victory? What is the mindset of the Warrior? What makes them different from the pack? What sets them in front, when others would fall behind and lose ground? Is being a warrior different than being a leader?
While there may be one leader, one commander heading the charge, there can still be an army of warriors battling together, banding arm and arm, teams of them linked by loyalty and commitment to a noble cause.
I think about this concept, this word and I don’t have all of the answers. But I sense the idea of it. A strength. A tenacity. Indomitable Spirit. Honor. Formidable Bravery. Getting back up when others would have stayed down and quit fighting.
We all face battles in life. None of us are exempt. To wish for a charmed life without problems or battles to face is as silly as spitting in the wind. It will get you nothing but spit on your face and nothing learned, nothing gained.
How you face your battles in life, how you choose to battle is the mark of a good person. Not whether you have them, but how you manage them.
So…do you face life’s battles like a warrior or do you run and hide, wishing them away?
We are living in a dark, scary, frustrating time. Tensions are high, lines are being drawn in the sand. More and more every day, we are being asked to choose sides, decide where we stand, what we believe. Hate is rampant, and civil rights are in the forefront of most everyone’s mind.
And yet in the midst of these dark challenges I am reminded again and again that it is how we face life’s battle that is the true test of our honor, courage and love. The hard battles and even the little day to day ones. The cloudy days, the headache days, the crabby days. The tragic days. We gather together, we hold each other up, we ask for help, we reach out to others, we hold up the ones who are in no position to do it for themselves.
Times like these inspire me, sometimes shame me, always make me proud, always humble me and help me remember my priorities. Live like warriors. With honor, patience, love, commitment and compassion for each other.
Never giving up.
We will fail. We will do it wrong. But when we fail, our goal is not to quit but to get back up quickly and battle some more. Battle better. No one said it is easy, this thing called life. But it is easier when we do it together. It’s easier still when we remember to stand tall, arm and arm and fight for the important things in life. Together.
Like Warriors
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Photo: Lagertha—History Channel’s “Vikings”
Wendi – Love this post. Just reading this paragraph sent chills down my spine –> “While there is just one leader, one commander heading the charge, there can still be an army of warriors battling together, banding arm and arm, teams of them linked by loyalty and commitment to a noble cause.”
This is such a great reminder that it’s our choices that make up how we experience life. I tell my kids all the time, “You can choose to be cranky and moody or you can choose to let it go and have a great day. You can choose to be mad or get over it and be happy. You can brood or accept. You can hate or love… It’s all your choice, and you’re the only one that can make it.”
I love that you point out that a warrior never gives up. I want that for them too.
Jennifer Bourn\’s last post… Bourn Creative Pulls Triple Duty at WordCamp LA 2014
Great post Wendi. It is in the HOW we face our battles that shows our true character and it’s grow curve as well. There have been many times that while I was fighting courageously and with honour the daily battles, I was totally avoiding and hiding from the big ones. The ones that mattered.
Today, I am more tenacious than ever and have taken on the biggie. The one where I need to hold firm to my new boundaries in the moments they feel enormously uncomfortable and be unwavering in my value and how I choose to express that.
I have always thought I was alone, that no one had my back. But the more I open up and ask for support, the more of an army I allow to support me and the easier the battle seems. I am not alone in this.
“We all face battles in life. None of us are exempt.” YES! Like Jennifer, I thought of my kids and parenting when I read this post. Getting them ready to face battles is my job. And, as Jennifer pointed out, teaching them when it’s a battle and when it’s a choice. And after thinking through your post, I’ll teach them that the warrior is not alone in battle. Love it, great food for thought, thank you! Angela
There’s never giving up but there is the moment when you walk away from battle — the battle you can’t win, don’t believe in, shouldn’t be fighting.
It’s the grace, class, and tactics that we use when faced with a battle is the true measure of a warrior.
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