What does it mean to be a warrior?
A warrior isn’t necessarily someone who is fighting a physical battle with brute strength, swords and metal armor. A warrior can be someone who fights emotional battles and conquers them using their intrinsic power. Our social and emotional defenses can be stronger than our suit of armor or physical strength. There are days and situations that require us to summon our inner warrior. Each and everyone of us is fighting a battle or set of battles. Some may be hidden deep within our archives of the past and others may be out in the open for all to see. overbearing on our everyday lives. It may be a friend’s pain of losing a child, maybe a partner’s/spouse’s shame over a hidden past, maybe a wrong you witnessed but didn’t speak up to, or maybe it’s fighting a battle unknown, a battle you feel compelled to fight that is unnamed.
Karen Young’s book, Hey Warrior: A Book for Kids about Anxiety, has become a wonderful resource for talking to our kids about their inner warrior. It has helped us learn more about how our brains are wired and how our brains and guts are connected. She explains that our amygdalas sense out danger to protect us and refers to it as our “fierce warrior…. If it senses trouble, it fuels your body so you can be strong, fast and powerful.” This understanding has been key to helping our kids with stressful, scary or anxiety-provoking situations. We especially like her encouraging reminder that, “anxiety is a sign that you’re about to do something really brave. Anxiety and courage always exist together - always - so take your strong breaths, your powerful thoughts, and that brave warrior of yours, and go be amazing”
Let’s make time to find our warrior stance, wherever it may be residing. Let’s find our inner power. Let’s gather our armor and take our hearts with us to fight for our collective well-being. Let’s spread love and look after ourselves, our children, and each other. Our children are watching us- they’re watching when we face our fears and watching how we use our warrior hearts. They have much to learn from what we all show them. Let’s show them that “empathy is about opening your heart… this can feel difficult, but… our hearts can hold a lot” The Power of Empathy. Our children are watching us, they see our fears and feel our warrior hearts. They will see us, and they will learn from what we show them.
Celebrating being perfectly imperfect,
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