Warriorship
a reminder to sit up and pull it together
“The essence of warriorship, or the essence of human bravery, is refusing to give up on anyone or anything. We can never say that we are simply falling to pieces, or that anyone else is, and we can never say that about the world either. Within our lifetime there will be great problems in the world, but let us make sure that within our lifetime no disasters happen. We can prevent them. It is up to us. We can save the world from destruction to begin with.”
-Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
It’s been a lot for a lot of us, I know.
The news, propaganda, digital mind-warp, perception deceptions, MK-Ultra protocols beaming through our hand-held devices (de-vice, the-vice), wars, fighting, endless streams of bad news, inflation, chem trails, nano-tech, Morgellans disease… ahhh!!!
Red vs Blue
Tyrants, dictators, psychopaths with lots and lots of power.
Everyone seems to be more and more plugged into their own isolated realities, heavily guarded by defensive ego structures that get so easily offended and react all too quickly.
Eye for an eye is indeed making the whole world blind, so it seems.
After screwing up a construction job, I came home the other night to my two girls, who would just not. stop. fighting.
I’ve been feeling a bit like falling apart lately, to be honest. Like taking a big dose of fuckitall and heading for the hills.
Except I already live in the hills. And I’m nestled deep in a 12-step program that has been very successful at keeping me off my favorite forms and variants of fuckitall.
It’s no fun being at the end of your rope, with the two people you love so dearly having at it with one another, with nowhere to go. No escape. Just irritation, sadness, and frustration.
But there happened to be this book on my coffee table, and it quietly began calling my name. It was an innocuous way to check out of the chaos in my home. Books are an escape I fully allow myself to indulge in.
The book is titled: Shambala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chogyam Trungpa.
Too tired to shout at my kids, tired of everything generally sucky about my day and last week actually, I opened to a random page. The following quote seemed to shoot into my brain like it was set in neon light:
(I know it’s quoted above, but it’s SO good that I need to throw it into your brain at least one more time)
“The essence of warriorship, or the essence of human bravery, is refusing to give up on anyone or anything. We can never say that we are simply falling to pieces, or that anyone else is, and we can never say that about the world either. Within our lifetime there will be great problems in the world, but let us make sure that within our lifetime no disasters happen. We can prevent them. It is up to us. We can save the world from destruction to begin with.”
I read this and sat straight up on the couch. I have fallen to pieces enough in my 46 years.
Life’s not appearing the way I would like, so there’s wine. There’s weed. There’s my phone, there’s an unhealthy relationship to get distracted by, there’s shows and porn and junk food enough to fill the 7 seas.
But I’m done with falling to pieces. I’m done with the excuses.
The overwhelm of the arguing around me was driving me to check out, to get depressed, to go down a spiral of rumination about how hopeless life is. But these words served as mighty cold plunge for my soul. And I dealt with it.
I’d like to say the conflict between the sisters was resolved, but there’s still a lot of work to do there. Family dynamics I don’t need to get into here. But I addressed the issue by being fully present, by holding space for both their pain. I put my big boy warrior pants on and we talked, and listened. I counseled on the vital importance of using kind words. That God has given us speech to uplift one another, not to cause harm to those we love, or anyone for that matter. The whole episode turned into a blessing, a lesson, a hunk of compost to grow as a family.
As this quote has percolated deep into my consciousness over the past couple days, I also have noticed what a victim atitude I have been harbouring regarding the state of this world.
The news, the feeds, the talking heads, the endless streams of info about the depth of treachery and lies and psychological manipulation taking place on a systemic level within government and business.
It’s overwhelming. It saddens me. I keep hearing myself say “well what can I do about it? There’s nothing to do.”
To which Chogyam Trungpa calls me out with the precision of a samarai blade.
Refuse to give up. On anyone or anything.
This is warriorship that we are all capable of embodying.
We simply do not have the luxury to fall to pieces and keep out heads burried in the sand.
There is crazy shit happening, on a level we really can’t fathom, but it is up to us to prevent the destruction. Not with more violence, not with manipulation, but with strategic and precise awareness. Presence. Compassion and understanding.
Addressing what is happening with all the spiritual tools we have in truck.
It sounds like a lot. But I have noticed a shift occuring in me which has gone from:
“fuck it, we’re doomed, we’re all so fucked, it started way before I was born and what’s destined to happen will happen.”
To:
“what can I do?”
Perhaps I can write a post about something I see that needs to be seen. Perhaps I can share how I am navigating this carnival circus ride called the 2020’s. Perhaps I can get right with my creator, get un-addicted from all this crap that’t pushed on me to consume endless amounts of every chance I get.
Perhaps I can start reaching out to friends and family more to tell them I love them and listen to their pain. Without judgement.
We know what to do.
Plant trees, flowers, stop buying crap, meditate for the benefit of all beings, pray, volunteer. Raise the vibration people!
Yea, this shit show started way before any of us incarnated. We didn’t start the fire, it was always burning since the world was turning (thank you Billy Joel). But what an empowering, thrilling reminder Chogyam passes us…
We have power.
We can prevent the ensuing disasters of these times.
In fact, it is up to us.
Let’s make sure no disaster happens.
Wow.
Mike drop Chogyam Trungpa.
PS: This post was inspired by these great and inspiring writers right here on Substack whom I highly recomend reading:
Michael Logan - The Unsaid Underside. Bro hits it our of the park every time.
The Wise Wolf - a bit extreme but very informative, thought provoking, and insightful
Lauren Oliver - one of my favorite poets right now. Her words provide relief.
PS: In case you needed just one more reading of this quote, you know, to let it really sink in because I feel we could all use this kind of message floating around our minds a lot more, here it is friends:
“The essence of warriorship, or the essence of human bravery, is refusing to give up on anyone or anything. We can never say that we are simply falling to pieces, or that anyone else is, and we can never say that about the world either. Within our lifetime there will be great problems in the world, but let us make sure that within our lifetime no disasters happen. We can prevent them. It is up to us. We can save the world from destruction to begin with.”
Love and gratitude,
Christoph
I’m sitting with the way you framed the victim mindset. Not in the shame sense. More like the subtle exhaustion that slowly turns into “what difference can I make.” I’ve felt that heaviness while scrolling through all the noise around us. It sneaks in. It has a way of making ordinary days feel thinner.
Your piece didn’t dismiss that heaviness. It treated it like something human, something we can acknowledge without bowing to it. That approach helped me exhale. It reminded me that clarity often arrives in ordinary moments if I’m willing to actually feel what’s here instead of numbing it.
Thanks for the book rec! Needed to read this today. I am sometimes lost in my isolation and perception, in (trying to) moving forward. Sometimes feels like a black hole.