Photo: Felix Russell-Saw via Unsplash
They may be sitting next to you on the train, or waiting in line behind you at the coffee shop.
They may be eating alone. They may be very visibly involved in conversation, or helping themselves to something more tactical like a book, a laptop, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
You can spot a warrior by the sunspots on their arms, the stubble on their face, the way they pointedly ask for directions, looking you squarely in the eye with the power of a hundred thousand lights.
They may appear tired but know exactly where to go. Even if they don’t have a map of how to get there.
They have holes in their clothing but walk tall and strong.
They know they can’t control many things in life, but posture is one.
Also happiness
And relentlessness
And a certain level of being pissed off *just enough* to understand that something has to change.
If you spot a warrior in the wild, they will tell you with the energy of a thousand fireworks that you have to keep doing what you love, no matter what.
Even if you’re being dragged through the mud professionally, personally, creatively.
Because there is no other option.
And if you ask a warrior if they believe that people are doing the very best they can in this world, they will always answer without hesitation – YES.
Still, they may not know where they will be living next month.
Or next week
Or even tomorrow
But they’re living large regardless.
When you see a warrior in the wild, remember to smile because it’s lonely out there sometimes
To fight for a greater purpose
Not knowing where the next paycheck will come from
Or if someone will discover that they’re a fraud and tell everyone
But they do know that life is to be experienced, and everything goes towards savoring each sweet, juicy drop.
And when things go to shit, well, they carry on.
Warriors travel light. They carry tiny suitcases in their hearts that oft become heavy on a rainy day.
Still, they have multiple lives like a cat.
Including a ferocious ability to alchemize fear into excitement, despair into courage, and random situations into the greatest of opportunities.
The warrior excels at taking risks, and therefore has perfected the art of failing.
Her battle scars flex as she leaps, shattering every rule as she flies forth into a fuzzy unknown.
Leveraging change is her superpower.
Because after everything has been stripped away, the warrior understands that the purest kind of beauty will always remain.
This leaves the warrior smiling, bright eyes reflecting life, love and truth in their purest forms, speeding at a hundred miles an hour through her veins as they two of you stand alone in silence, waiting for a key to the bathroom or that fine cup of cold brew.
When you see a warrior in the wild, know that you share similar travails.
Know that you are equally triumphant.
Understand that you have both already won.
Know that when she asks you to join her (and she will) there is only one answer – YES.