The Work of the Warrior
““If someone comes along and shoots an arrow in your heart, it is fruitless to stand there and yell at that person. It would be much better to turn your attention to the fact that there is an arrow in your heart.”
-Pema Chodron”
Many people depict the warrior as the one who stands in strength launching arrows. However, I see the warrior as the one who stands in strength + surrender willing to remove arrows from their own heart.
I’ve seen a lot of posts lately about how our traumas are not our fault, but they are our responsibility to heal. I couldn’t agree more.
Whatever happens to you, is not your fault. I mean it. It’s not your fault. It didn’t happen because you’re not worthy of joy or because you’re a bad person. It happened because it happened, and likely because someone hasn’t had the tools to heal themself yet. That doesn’t make our traumas okay or excuse their behavior. It is simply a reminder that what others choose to do is a reflection of who they are, not you. Even though many of our troubles are caused by external sources, it is you, and only you, that can look at that pain, and heal it (with the support of friends, family, therapy, yoga, and puppy videos, of course). But nobody else can face our pain for us.
This is essential because when we do not tend to our own wounds we become reliant on others to “fix” us, or we numb them, or worse, we end up hurting those around us. It’s like if someone gets a cut and they run away from the pain and they don’t bandage it, then they end up bleeding all over people who didn’t cut them. Trauma and pain work just like that. Before we know it we are bleeding all over people who didn’t cut us because we are hurt and scared and probably lonely.
Your healing is your responsibility and honor.
So turn your attention to the arrows in your heart.
Stop yelling at and blaming the people who put them there.
Your heart needs you more than they need your anger.
Heal your own heart + change your world.
And this, is the work of a warrior.