When a warrior has put an end to his routines, when he doesn’t care anymore whether he has company or is alone, because he has heard the silent whisper of the spirit; then you can say that, truly, he has died. From that point on, even the simplest things in life become extraordinary for him. For this, a sorcerer learns how to live again. He tastes each moment as if it were the last one. He doesn’t waste any effort on feeling dissatisfied, nor does he throw away his energy. He doesn’t wait until he becomes old to ponder the mysteries of the world. He is ahead, he explores, he knows and marvels. ~ Carlos Castaneda, Encounters with the Nagual

The Gulf oil spill that has turned out to be much more than a spill and instead a catastrophic disaster of monumental proportion threatening to wipe out ecosystems and oceans and marine life and livelihoods. A recent “discovery” of nearly $1 trillion of untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan will create new opportunity for the earth to be mined, blown up and destroyed further and has the potential to ultimately lead to war as each country vies for control somehow with the US claiming finder’s rights; the horrific stories of the world as it is, as it is becoming combined with the continual push to save the earth, raise consciousness, take responsibility, do what’s right…like a jack-hammer constantly threatening to tear the thin and fragile fabric of existence.

It feels as though, through all this commotion and drama that I have truly died. Died to what was. I do not care anymore, not because the earth is unimportant to me but because the silent whisper of spirit has come and gently assisted me in seeing the folly of my ways. I am put on notice to choose my battlegrounds wisely. Right before me lies the choice that we all have; to touch freedom, to truly eat, drink and be merry no longer distracted by the petty, self-important justifications that hold one captive to the madness of wanting so desperately to save humanity, the oceans, mother earth. I choose claiming freedom from the routines, from the patterns, and to walk each moment fully in awareness and forever touching, honing and knowing awareness through the awesomeness that is our existence upon mother earth.

I love this precious earth more than anything else in the world. We all chose to live here because of the sheer beauty that she is and the abundance that she offers and the inhabitants upon her, within her, above her. And we want to do what we can to ensure her survival. And this is my relentless and joyful battle.

A warrior enters into her battle, not because she believes she will win, but for the excitement of her war. For her, entering the war is already a victory. Don Juan said that discipline, as understood by a warrior, is creative, open, and produces freedom. It is the ability to face the unknown, transforming the feeling of knowing into reverent astonishment; of considering things that exceed the scope of our habits, and daring to face the only war that is worthwhile: the battle for awareness. And this earth has so much to teach us, so very much, truly a being worthy of much more reverence and honor from all people.

The warrior knows that she lives in a predatorial universe. She can never let her guard down. Wherever she looks, she sees an incessant fight, a battle for awareness, and she knows that it deserves her respect, because it is a fight to the death. Don Juan was always moving, coming or going, supporting this or rejecting that, provoking tensions or discharging them in a burst, shouting his intent or remaining silent; doing something. He was alive, and his life reflected the ebb and flow of the universe.

Don Juan said that from the moment when the explosion which gave us origin occurred, until the moment of our death, we live within a flow. Those two episodes are unique, because they prepare us for the encounter of what lies further ahead. And what aligns us with that flow? An incessant battle, which only a warrior will attempt. Because of that, she lives in profound harmony with everything. A warrior accepts her destiny, whatever it may be. However, she fights to change things, and she makes something exquisite of her passage on Earth. She tempers her will in such a way that nothing can deviate her from her purpose.

My purpose, my exquisite passage on Earth is the very Earth herself. She is the ultimate playground and battlefield for me to continue to hone my awareness and do the best I can to live in profound harmony with everything. And deep in the darkness of the night I hope to sit peacefully upon mother earth looking up at the stars and the planets into infinity knowing that my existence is merely pure energy within the flow of oneness and freedom.

The warrior transforms his animal fear of extinction into an opportunity for joy. Because he knows that all he has is this moment. Think as warriors. We are all going to die! ~ CC