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”
