“A Warrior of the Light always keeps his heart free of any feelings of hatred….But he knows that the act of forgiveness does not mean that he must accept everything….He accepts that his opponents are there to test his valor, his persistence, and his ability to make decisions.  They force him to fight for his dreams.”

– Paulo Coelho

We like to think that love conquers all.  We like to think that all we need to do is shine Light into the darkness and it will be transformed from night to day.  In a way, I guess you could say that we like to think we know all about fixing the world and that all we need to do is remain loving and our days will flow smoothly.  Hold on…what’s that sound…the alarm clock?  I guess I was dreaming.  Welcome to another day in the real world.  I love to dream.  Sometimes I dream when I’m sleeping and sometimes I’m wide awake; and I do believe that my dreams of Love and Light overcoming hatred and darkness are dreams that ultimately will come true.  In a war, the outcome is not judged by who wins or loses a small skirmish.  In a war, the outcome goes to the army that remains consistent and courageous and smart and well-equipped.  As in our own lives, we like to think that wars will be won by the forces of good, not evil.  When evil wins, it usually means that the war has not ended; because the passion of those who bring Light to darkness goes on past periodic defeats.

There are times when we feel as though we have lost a battle against darkness.  We must ask ourselves at these times how we have grown during this experience.  Have we been able to hold onto our dreams?  Have we resisted returning hatred for hatred?  Have we continued to bring Love and Light even though it seems to be swallowed up in a bottomless black hole?  There are times when discretion truly is the better part of valor.  There are times when we need to take a step back and see clearly that the only way we can continue to pursue our ultimate dream is to walk away from a conflict that cannot, today, be resolved.

We must turn deaf ears to any criticism that says we have failed.  We must not take on accusations that we are being cowardly.  We must find the inner strength and courage to know that by deciding to walk away we are deciding to live to strive another day.  We must know in our hearts that having the wisdom to walk around some obstacles will allow us to continue on the path to our dreams.  When medical doctors begin their practice, they take the Hippocratic Oath, which begins, “first, do no harm.”  This is a good rule to apply to any part of living; and sometimes, in the darkest moments, we must shine enough Light to see that walking away will cause less harm than engaging in a bloody battle.  We should take what we can learn from the battle we choose not to fight and, above all, remove ourselves before we are tempted to fight darkness by becoming dark ourselves.  Sometimes a dream that is worth fighting for is a dream that is worth accepting a passing defeat.  It is through being challenged that we become strong.