Perspective & War

"It is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in war.” I’m not sure where the quote came from originally, but it is a hard-hitting one. It calls upon two notions: the perspective of the gardener and the perspective of the warrior. Definitely, it seems like for one to embrace the life of a gardener, a certain sense of security must be guaranteed. One perspective could be of a gardener who is not expecting or has even hardly considered the possibility of war. Of course, why would they? Especially if they so happen to live in a utopia and never knew or heard of such a thing as war and the difficulties of it. In this extreme scenario, consider the mindset and perspective of this gardener, who has no insight at all into anything war-related. Now in turn, consider a warrior. A Spartan soldier, for example, is bred for war since the day of their birth and grows up learning, practicing, and enacting all that is involved with the unfortunate experiences of war. Quite a grim state of affairs. Not to speak out of turn, but i don’t think most of us are either warriors or gardeners. Though I think I can grow the most beautiful tulips, but that’s just me. You may have already sensed it, but the warrior and gardener allegories serve the dualities of life. Life is a series of ups and downs, good and bad, yin and yang. sometimes the yang(bad) can be yanging for real, and you might be crying out for some yin(good). And as much as you might want it to yin, the yang is where the warriors are made.

I feel like I have had to face a series of intense battles on my journey as of late. Not just any battles an average person might face, mind you, all in hilariously timed succession, one after the other. If you read some of my other blog posts (shameless plug), you’ll know that I embrace war. I always carried the spirit of a warrior because I have known that adversity forges a man, and one must be strong, though, to grow and tend to his garden in this world. What I achieve comes subsequently to the manner of man I become, and the manner of man, I’m finding out, is more shaped by adversities than it is by ease. I’m finding that the adversities also brings a clearer vision of what my desired garden looks like… You know, after a long period of tears and brooding (feel your feelings). From the aftermath of each adversity, my fear diminishes. My core values take deeper root and have clearer meaning. My boundaries become more strict, unapologetically. Most interestingly, my desire for greatness skyrockets. It is almost as if I can perceive that every battle is preparing me to not only grow and nourish the most beautiful garden but also protect and share its beauty.

I realized something beautiful with art and the great humans this world has had to offer. I gravitate to certain great figures because they speak, create, and share their battles in ways that are familiar to me. Their essence resonates with mine. Before I know their stories and lives, their words and art already speak to me as if I were looking at myself in a mirror. I loved Michael Jackson as a child (yeah, I know we all did) before learning of his hardships as a child. I loved Kendrick Lamar before learning of conditions in his home city in which he was raised. I loved Cristiano Ronaldo before learning of what it must have taken for him to achieve all he did. I feel like I can see the mirror of the essence of pain that allows people to achieve marvelously. The magic of this achievement, I believe, I have found to be the ability to express emotions. I understand that none of these ideas might be new, but it hits so differently when you are unraveling its truth in real time. The truest manifestation of art, leadership, invention, and achievement—the truest embodiment of the human experience—is in how one can channel and express their emotions, especially when those emotions have been felt profoundly. I now seek to discover my most suitable mode of expression that will lead me to my garden, just like the greats I admire. The path is so clear for me now. I too must become an icon!