Warrior of the Light favorite quote
A Warrior of the Light is in the world in order to help his fellow man, not to condemn his neighbor. – Page 38
Lessons learned from Warrior of the Light.
1. Stories, food , and “fires” are so necessary in life.
The Warrior gathers these people around the fire, he tells stories, shares his food, drinks with them. The following day, everyone feels better. – Page 108
There is just something about sitting around a fire telling stories that create an atmosphere of intimacy. It appears to me that people are so desperate for real friendship. I watched the reunion show for Friends recently and there is a section in the reunion show that literally has people sharing that Friends the show saved them from suicide because they felt like they finally had friends.
We need to be aware of this need and create more opportunities for people to connect. If you want to make a difference in this world an easy first step is to create “campfire” moments for people to sit around and tell stories and eat. You can save a lot of lives with this simple step.
2. What if we tried to help people instead of condemn them?
A Warrior of the Light is in the world in order to help his fellow man, not to condemn his neighbor. – Page 38
We are in an intense time in our culture and world. We are so divided on every issue with each side so dug in that conversation cannot happen. Every issue you are condemned for the side you are on by the other side. It has the appearance of good and bad and nowhere in between.
What if we approached life not in a note of condemnation but in a desire to serve people. A worldview of I am not better than you, but a worldview of how can I help you. It would take a great deal of humility and sacrifice but what would the world look like if we could finally do it?
3. Trust comes from authenticity.
But the Warrior of the Light never compares him with his old companions in battle. He makes the stranger welcome, but he will not trust him until he knows his defects too. – Page 113
We live in a social media world of putting our best foot forward. I was watching an episode of The Misery Index and when the contestant was asked what they were going to do with the money, their response was they wanted to go to Egypt and take a picture in front of the pyramids for social media because they have seen people do that and want to front.
The problem with this putting your best foot forward is that we don’t trust anyone because we know that a life without faults can’t be trusted. When we are authentic and share both our victories and failures we build a sense of trust that others are attracted to. Authenticity can be your greatest asset.
2 thoughts on “Warrior of the Light – Paulo Coelho”