Warrior at the Gate

Inspired by Master Orlando Waugh and his post today.

A warrior came to the gate and demanded entry.

His armor gleamed black. The craft of it was a beauty to behold. His blade blazed in St Elmo's Fire.

He said "Behold! I am Strife! Child of Burden. Heir of Despair and of Regret. I am brother to Hate, the Kinsman of Loathing. I am Submission, Subjugation and Defeat. I am "That which Yields" and you will surrender!"

I donned my armor and stood before the gate and said, "I shall not give up."

The warrior roared like a thousand trumpets and declared , "I shall strike off your hands!"

I calmly replied, "My Gauntlets are made of friendship, of hands clasped and promises kept"

He roared like a lion and cried, "Then I shall strike at your legs!"

I remained calm, "My legs are protected by greaves forged of Charity and Caring"

He became hoarse and proclaimed, "Then I shall Strike at your head!"

I Moved not an inch as I replied, "My helm is forged of the love I bear my family and they bear me, it shall not be broken."

Strife did laugh and his voice became deafening, "Thou Fool! I shall strike at your heart! I will take what you love and what you hold dear! I will kill your friends and destroy that which you care about. I shall draw my sword of doubt and in the end you will die. "

I shook my head and spoke. As I did my voice attained the sound of thunder.

"My Breast Plate and Armor are crafted of Courage. It has been tested by the fires of fear. It was hammered on the anvil of challenge and quenched in the bath of experience.

The sword in my scabbard is crafted of Faith. Faith in myself, Faith in my friends, Faith in how I believe. It can not destroy you, but you can not win against it, nor can you destroy me."

The air grew cold, Strife drew his sword. He shouted, He postured, he railed!

I stood, My sword still in it's scabbard and watched Strife walk away in defeat.

Symbol and allegory

symbols and allegory. similar but very different terms.

Symbols are by nature, simple. "this represents this" for example a US traffic light, the symbols are Red Yellow and Green

Red = stop

Yellow = Caution

Green = Go

Allegory is more complex.

Allegory is how a person interoperates a symbol

the yellow light is a great example

to some it is "Go if you can"
or "hit the gas"
or "get ready to stop"
or some others 'get while its good"

these are Allegories, these are what we chose a symbol to mean.

Today

Today is ours because we choose it. We woke up and said, "This day is mine."

We can not choose tomorrow as we can not guarantee we will wake up again.

We can claim today.

Thoughts

Darkness can only prevail if we allow it. Each of us is imbued with light. As long as one will stand, darkness can not win.

Come stand with me.

a point

There comes a point for every one when more is taken away than is given to us in our life.

It comes in slow and unstoppable measures at first and begins to get more as life goes on.

There is no changing this only how you view it. Learn to acknowledge the loss and celebrate the memories.

Eventually others will do the same for us, we teach them how to remember.

Integrity

Ash

We are creatures of fire and smoke. There is heat in our passing, light in our presence and we are fed on life itself.

In our wake it is said we leave not but ash, but from that ash comes life that cannot live without the flame.

Learning

I feel that have learned far more from those who I have have had the privilege to lead, than what I have been taught by those I chose to follow.