Why bother to be a warrior?

Why bother to be a warrior?

Is it worth fighting for peace as warriors?

Wouldn't you agree, that fighting against anything is likely to cause the fighter stress and even physical pains? That his fight is somewhat futile if his opponents are not aware of his causes? And that no one side, can actually win if the other does not acknowledge the struggles perceived to be fought for?

We live in a world that has sadly been killing, maiming and destroying civilizations and human beings for as long as time has been recorded. The various warriors of the past have fought valiantly and bravely for many causes, and yet all of them have met the same eventuality, and are now returned to the dust of the earth from which they came. The energy and dreams, the determination and courage they adopted and employed have done nothing more than evaporated into the ether of time and space.

A renowned and impressive mind of the 20^th century Carl Sagan, said about this:-

Many empires and dynasties have been formed and founded upon strong belief systems and the courage of those willing to fight in defence of them all. Kings, Queens, Princes and noble men and women of all eras, have likewise pushed their particular brand of idealism across wide and varied landscapes upon this earth since time began. Each one held a certain predisposed belief that their ideas and will were the best for everyone. Not only their devoted citizens, but the wider world they set out to conquer too. 

 

What a great pity none of them really asked the questions that could have saved humanity so much bloodshed and hatred all of this time. Do the others beliefs have to be proved wrong? Are the views and beliefs held, working effectively for the good of everyone, especially those about to be vanquished? And is it fair to force anyone, especially other human beings to do what we (the warring force) say that they must?

Only a fool would think he/she knew what was best, what was in the best interests of another, before actually holding any type of dialogue with those other peoples. Only the very wisest of historical figures ever made good decisions, and that was only some of the time and with limited successes. The truth is not clear nor discernible in any provable way, as so many determining factors exist. And as human beings, we have so many ways of going about our affairs that each can have a level of observable success, depending on what it is we say that we are trying to achieve by our actions. In a very sad and morose way, even Adolf Hitler was a somewhat successful man. He achieved a huge goal, which was to attempt to exterminate the Jews. Thankfully he did not get all the way to total annihilation of that race, and the world saw to it that he failed. Many say that he was a madman, and yet he got so far into it with the help of millions of his fellow men and women. Were the people fighting against Hitler any more deserving of the title warrior than he was for fighting for his beliefs? No, I did not suggest that I have any sympathy at all with his fight. I merely said that based upon what he wanted to give to the world, his views, his beliefs, he did a very thorough job. 

 

Killing anyone, Jew, Gentile Muslim or Christian, man, woman or child, Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Taoist or Atheist in my opinion is completely unacceptable. Not for any reason of logic that says one race is superior, that skin colour or belief system is more worthy than another to be able to live freely on this planet. Nor anyone who believes a right of birth decided by dead people is appropriate. I am not calling these things wrong nor right, I am merely saying that it may do us well to consider if these thoughts and more so actions, prove anything about the belief we say we are fighting for. All I've heard my whole life is that we had to fight for our freedom. Well I say to you now, could we not have been better served by loving for our freedom?

War has been shown to have caused more war. What war was ever cause by Peace? By a determined effort to not only say peace, but to act peacefully? 

When great spirits such as Gandhi, Jesus, Martin Luther King, Leymah Gbowee, Severn Cullis Suzuki, Malala Yousafzai, Peace Pilgrim, Michael Jackson, The Dalai lama, James Redfield, Bob Marley and John Lennon and Yoko Ono to name but a few, stood up and asked us to consider peace, what were they talking about? Were/are they not asking us to GIVE peace a chance?

So in answer to the original title question, is it worth fighting for peace as warriors? (Why bother to be a warrior?) I say this. In determining what is of importance in this life, I consider four things.

1. Of what is the spirit made.
2. What is sacred.
3. What is worth living for.
4. What is worth dying for.

To me it is simple, the answer to all four is the same. It is LOVE.

So my being a warrior, our being warriors should surely reflect our beliefs in this basic understanding. Love is far stronger than hate and will really save us all a lot of heartache, suffering and distress, if only we choose to adopt it more fully into our hearts and compassionate sharing. We are brothers and sisters alike, one people, one planet one love...!

Be good to one another, be good to yourself. Have courage to be daring.

Love, peace and harmony.

Peaceful Warrior.