How do you think the warrior feels on the day of the battle?
I think the answer is that it doesn’t matter. He just better be at his best. He better be beyond feeling because it is a matter of life and death. The warrior has no time to deal with the resistance. He just banishes it.
I felt a certain unease the other day as I was heading to lunch and found myself wondering why it was the case. I also wondered if the unease would lead to a less productive day. So, as I began typing this thought out for a potential post on uneasy feelings, I thought of the warrior and realized that the feeling of unease didn’t matter in the big scheme of things. I wouldn’t remember my feelings on unease a month down the line but I’d remember not doing my job. I had a job to do for the rest of the day. I’d worry about the unease when I was back in my tent after the day’s battle if it still lingered.
It was an important small decision as it changed the way I looked at the day. I moved from feeling like a victim of the unease virus to feeling in full control about whether or not to let it affect me. As Eckhart Tolle would say, you are not your thoughts or feelings. You are the awareness within which you experience these thoughts and feelings. Be aware. Don’t react to everything. Respond instead. And, when you do decide to respond to feelings of unease when you need to get something done, summon the warrior state of mind.
A Learning a Day 