I saw 300 last night on Imax.  Watching the Spartans do their thing made me think about training to be a Warrior in yoga.

In one scene a paltry army of 300 Spartans are being pelted with about a million arrows.  The sky is dark there are so many arrows.  These guys are each huddled under their shield.  One dude says, “We fight in the shade!” and they all have a good chuckle as they wait for the shower of arrows to end. 

It made me think – wow, it sure takes a Warrior to keep your sense of humour and focus in that situation.

In another scene a dude’s eye has met with a spear and the King comments about his eye and he says, “It’s only an eye. God has graced with me a spare.”

It made me think – wow, it sure takes a Warrior to lose your eye and keep your perspective.

Now thank god I’m not on an actual battlefiend in my day-to-day life, but there are days when I feel like I’m being showered with arrows.  And how often am I able to stay clear and focused enough to maintain a sense of humour?  How often can I keep my ground enough to say, “thanks for the shade guys” while I wait for the arrows to land so I can continue on.

And when it feels like I’m being poked in the eye, can I say, “whew, thank god I’ve got a spare.” Without getting wrapped up in “woe is me” and other useless roads I may travel as I react to my circumstances.

I met an amazing Warrior recently, she came to my Level 1 class.  She just fought cancer.  Her doctors told her she’d die and she didn’t.  She’s dealing with physical issues and trying to get back in shape. She managed about 1/3 of the class.  I could sense her frustration and told her she was doing great.  She said, “well, I fought for my life and won, now I guess I’ll have to fight for my body too.” 

What a Warrior huh?  I have a hard time accepting where I’m at on the yoga mat if it’s not up to my exacting standards.  I’m sure not at her level of acceptance and toughness. I hope to learn some Warrior skills from her.