Warrior of the Light -02- (12.19.08)

So it's been a little while, eh? I've been busy. It's how it goes. I have a feeling there will be much more free time at my fingertips in the coming weeks. Shall we, then? The following excerpt has been taken from Paulo Coelho's Warrior of the Light, a manual meant to accompany The Alchemist.

"All the world's roads lead to the heart of the Warrior; he plunges unhesitatingly into the river of passions always flowing through his life."
(Warrior of the Light, Coelho, p2)

Sometimes, it's easy for us to feel as though we don't deserve fortune when it comes our way, or that we should not waste time indulging ourselves. While over-indulgence should be avoided, it is not wrong, nor morally reprehensible in any sense to allow ourselves our own little pleasures from time to time.

To fully love everyone - which is our goal no matter what name you call your god, is it not? - we have to be able to love ourselves. After all, each of us is also a person on the Earth, and if we can't love ourselves, how can we ever hope to love another? Would you deny a loved one that enjoys manicures a trip to the salon once in a while? Would you say no to taking a child to an amusement park for his birthday? Of course not. We allow our loved one these guilty pleasures - why not ourselves?

A Warrior knows that the body and mind needs some degree of pleasure to thrive. He allows for this, but knows at what point over indulgence happens. When the body is softened by excessive pampering, or when wanting becomes needing the unnecessary, it has gone too far. That boundary is different for every thing and everyone, and only the person can decide when enough is enough.

There must be a balance at all points in life: when we can play, and when we must work. To play all the time is to throw regard aside, to be only concerned with Self. While attention to Self is important, constant, undivided attention is dangerous.

If we work all the time, then we neglect Self, and our spiritual energies start to fail. We become prey to sickness and depression, and eventually if not immediately, hatred. Irritation at ourselves - or at something we can attribute blame to - arises and eventually becomes hatred. Self-hate is one of the most horrifying things we can do. As beings of love, we should strive to love everyone - above all else: ourselves.

Be free, be alive, live, and love because that is what you are here to do. The Warrior knows this, he knows how important play is, but he never loses sight of his end goal. He also knows the things that last but a moment and those that can last a lifetime. Each has its place and purpose, and he knows, lives, and loves this truth unconditionally. So can you.

So go ahead, have that second cookie. It's the holidays.







Thank you to himmelskratzer and aussiegall and chotda.