by Nathaniel Whitley

Created on: March 27, 2008

The modern warrior does not carry a sword. His sword is his mind. The modern warrior does not wear armor. He does not strive for invulnerability, but absolute vulnerability. The modern warrior has no enemy. His enemy is the one from within.

These days when we think of a warrior, we imagine only the past; the valiant knight, the Viking berserker, the defiant, Roman gladiator. We think whimsically of times long, long ago when men and nations lived and died by the sword. They were the personification of warrior codes calling for courage and valor in the face of death. But what use are such codes today when the sword is little more than an idea and knights the stuff of fairytales? The modern warrior does not face death. He faces only his life.

For the old warriors it was perhaps easier. They knew their enemy by the standard he wore or the language he spoke. They fought wielding the crude weapons of their trade, whether sword or spear or bow. But what value does any of that hold today? These days the lines separating countries and peoples mean less and less with every generation. We don't fight with swords and shields. Our weapons are evolved beyond iron and steel.

I do not mean our physical weapons. Guns are the weapons of soldiers, and there is a subtle line of distinction between a soldier and a warrior. A soldier is one whose profession is to defend his country. His enemies are known to him. For a warrior, the fight is not on the open battlefield but in the mundane every day of his existence, and he must first know himself before he can discover his true enemy. His battle is no less than a fight against the cruelty of depression, the tyranny of ignorance, and the injustice of apathy. For him the only sin is habit. His only enemy is within himself.

In the old days, a warrior went into combat for lands, riches, religious differences; for today's warrior the only campaign is for peace. He knows that within him, within all of us, there is a potential for boundless peace, a common bond that could unite all the universe together if only we have the strength to cut through our own ego and see the world unclouded by personal prejudices.

To be a modern warrior is to see that the only time is now. Yesterday has gone, it cannot be changed. Tomorrow is an illusion, it comes with no guarantee. Living for either past or future is a wasted life. It is only through the here and now that you can experience life as it is.

Today's warrior must see that the only way to defeat an enemy is to embrace him; that bowing isn't a show of submission, but the seeking of equality. He knows that kindness has no price tag, nor currency. He understands that service to others, for only the sake of service and without idea of reward, is the highest achievement of mankind.

The modern warrior isn't the stuff of legend. He isn't Hercules or Hector, nor Galahad or Arthur. He doesn't have to be a giant, a Titan, or the son of a king. He can be anyone. He can be the person standing next to you in line at the bank, the waitress who serves you your food, the attendant who pumps your gas. These days he is the faceless man among the masses. He is everyman and no man. The modern warrior is you.

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