From the ashes?

A Warrior must understand that failure should never be the end. The Warrior's Code places a heavy load on a man's* shoulders, requiring almost superhuman abilities for them to accomplish all its demands. In large and small ways, all men* eventually fail some of the challenges eventually. We might feel anger, or frustration, or succumb to temptation. We might work against the universe in desperation, even with the best of intentions. We fall from the high ideals we hold ourselves to.

The true failure of a Warrior is not in stumbling or in failing to live up to the ideals we live by. The true failure occurs if, once having fallen, we refuse or fail to rise again. There are those who, having failed in one of their tasks, consider themselves beyond redemption or forgiveness.

I am guilty of this at times myself.

We strive to live up to the ideals that we set forth for ourselves, but when (not if, but when) a man* fails to attain those goals, the only choices are to let the failure dominate his* life, or to rise from the ashes of that defeat and make peace with himself*, and try once more.

Or as the dearest of hearts told me, "Learn to be gentle to yourself."

That is the way of the Warrior.




*Feel free to substitute She, Her, or Woman where applicable. This blog does not contain gender or other bias towards those Woman Warriors out there.