Part 4 (1/2)

The warrior of light behaves like a child.

People are shocked; they have forgotten that a child needs to have fun and to play, to be slightly irreverent and to ask awkward, childish questions, to talk nonsense that not even he believes in.

And they say, horrified: 'So this is the spiritual path, is it? He's so immature!'

The warrior feels proud of such comments. And he remains in touch with G.o.d through his innocence and his joy, without ever losing sight of his mission.

The Latin root of the word 'responsibility' reveals its true meaning: the

capacity to respond, to react.

A responsible warrior is one who has proved able to observe and to learn. He is even capable of being 'irresponsible'. Sometimes, he has allowed himself to be carried along by a situation, without responding or reacting.

But he always learned his lesson; he took a stance, listened to advice and was humble enough to accept help.

A responsible warrior is not someone who takes the weight of the world on his shoulders, but someone who has learned to deal with the challenges of the moment.

A warrior of light cannot always choose his battlefield.

Sometimes he is taken by surprise in the middle of battles not of his choosing, but there is no point in running away, those battles will merely follow him.

Then, at the point when conflict seems almost inevitable, the warrior talks to his opponent. Showing neither fear nor cowardice, he tries to find out why the other man wants to fight, what made him leave his village in order to seek him out to fight this duel. Without even unsheathing his sword, the warrior persuades his opponent that this is not a fight for him.

A warrior of light listens to what his opponent has to say. He only fights if absolutely necessary.

The warrior of light is terrified when it comes to making important decisions.

'This is too much for you,' says a friend. 'Go on, be brave,' says another. And so his doubts grow.

After some days of anxiety, he withdraws to the corner of his tent where he usually sits to meditate and pray. He sees himself in the future. He sees the people who will benefit or be harmed by his att.i.tude. He does not want to cause pointless suffering, but nor does he want to abandon the path.

The warrior allows the decision to reveal itself.

If he has to say 'yes', he will say it bravely. If he has to say 'no', he will say it without a trace of cowardice.

A warrior of light accepts his Personal Legend completely.

His companions say: 'He has remarkable faith!'

For a moment, the warrior feels proud, then immediately feels ashamed of what he has heard because he does not have as much faith as he appears to have.

At that moment, his angel whispers: 'You are only an instrument of the light. There is no reason to feel proud or to feel guilty, there are only reasons to feel happy.'

And the warrior of light, aware now that he is but an instrument, feels calmer and more secure.

'Hitler may have lost the war on the battlefield, but he ended up winning something too,' says M. Halter, 'because man in the twentieth century created the concentration camp and revived torture and taught his fellow men that it is possible to close their eyes to the misfortunes of others.'

Perhaps he is right: there are abandoned children, ma.s.sacred civilians, innocent people imprisoned, lonely old people, drunks in the gutter, madmen in power.

But perhaps he isn't right at all, for there are also warriors of light.

And warriors of light never accept what is unacceptable.

The warrior of light never forgets the old saying: the good little goat doesn't

bleat.

Injustices happen. Everyone finds themselves in situations they do not deserve, usually when they are unable to defend themselves. Defeat often knocks at the warrior's door.

At such times, he remains silent. He does not waste energy on words, because they can do nothing; it is best to use his strength to resist and have patience, knowing that Someone is watching, Someone who saw the unnecessary suffering and who will not accept it.

That Someone gives him what he most needs: time. Sooner or later, everything will once more work in his favour.

A warrior of light is wise; he does not talk about his defeats.

A sword may not last very long, but the warrior of light must.

That is why he never allows himself to be deceived by his own abilities and thus avoids being taken by surprise. He gives each thing the value it deserves.

Often, when the warrior is pondering grave matters, the devil whispers in his ear: 'Don't worry about that, it's not important.'

At others, when he is faced by ba.n.a.lities, the devil says to him: 'You should pour all your energies into resolving this situation.'

The warrior does not listen to what the devil is telling him; he is the master of his sword.

A warrior of light is always vigilant.

He does not ask anyone else for permission to wield his sword; he simply takes it in his hands. Nor does he waste time explaining his actions; faithful to G.o.d's decisions, he gives his answer in what he does.

He looks to either side of him and identifies his friends. He looks behind him and identifies his opponents. He is implacable with treachery, but he does not seek revenge; he merely drives away the enemies of his life, never fighting with them any longer than is necessary.

A warrior does not try to seem, he is.

A warrior does not keep company with those who wish to harm him. Nor is he

seen in the company of those who want to 'console' him.

He avoids anyone who is only by his side in the event of a defeat: these false friends want to prove that weakness is rewarded. They always bring him bad news. They always try to destroy the warrior's confidence, all under the cloak of 'solidarity'.

When they see him wounded, they dissolve in tears, but, in their heart of hearts, they are happy because the warrior has lost a battle. They do not understand that this is part of the fight.