Etana – Warrior Love (not so on topic, but I love this song.)

I’m a woman. But I’m also a warrior. And if you’re smart, you’ll become a warrior too.

This life is lots of things. Ups, downs, highs and lows. We’re faced with all this…let’s call it stuff. Sometimes we step in it and sometimes we get pushed in it and sometimes we let ourselves be dragged into it, but at the end of the day we’re in it. And it stinks. You’d be surprised how many people lay down and take whatever comes their way. We complain about our condition, but don’t do anything to improve it. We complain about how people treat us, but then go right back into the same situation. We complain about our communities, but then go somewhere else to spend our money and improve life. We allow people to kill our dreams, suck the life out of our goals and drown our spirits. I’m guilty of it too at times, so I’m not judging. These are just observations.

So what, then, is the answer?

Take care of yourself. That’s not always easy, but it’s necessary. You take time for yourself, your interests, your thoughts, the things you care about. You can’t run on an empty battery. The things that are so pressing will be there. I know that sounds easy for me to say with no husband and no kids to worry about. But I know for a fact if you work yourself sick, you can’t take care of anyone else. So you have to preserve. Preserve your emotions. Stand up for your feelings and your heart. That takes courage, but courage is free. You can afford it; even in a recession.

Take care of your children. If you don’t have any children, find some. If you’re grown, you have some kids you can attend to – maybe you just haven’t found them yet. Anyway you slice it, kids are all we really have as hope. When we neglect children and their needs – emotionally, physically and intellectually – we’re selling our culture and future short. Listen to them, because they’re talking to you. Teach them how to be a better person than you are. That’s my personal goal. I guess, I turned out okay. I’m decent and smart, I think. But what I want is to help turn out someone better than myself.

Take care of your community. Find ways to stimulate growth where you live. That means spend your money there. Or find small businesses and give them a chance. Take an interest in the politics and the issues that effect the people around you. And when you get interested, take some action. Write some letters. Go visit some people and light into them, if needed (in love!). In every walk of life, there’s a way to get involved, whether it has to do with policy or procedure. If nothing else, make sure that you do the very best you can by the people around you.

I don’t think there is anything to be gained by being meek about what we need to do. If we are, we’ll insure that it won’t get done. So in a lot of ways, we do have to be warriors for the things that matter. The time for waiting around for other people to take care of us isn’t over – it never was. No religion, no belief system I’ve found admonishes one to sit on their laurels, do absolutely nothing and wait for something great to happen. (Feel free to let me know if you find something else.) Believe in the Creator and trust that your needs will be fulfilled, but use that faith to power your works – internally and externally.

The other afternoon, I was at the store and an Outcry from the Barrio guy (If you’re not familiar, google it. I can’t get into that right now.) came up to me and scared the mess out me. All he said was “Ma’am”, but that’s all it takes for me if I’m lost in thought. Knowing this, my step-mom and grandma tell me frequently to always be aware of my surroundings.

If awareness is knowing what’s going on at all times, I’m at times guilty of unawareness. I do alright, but there are so many things to know about. News, not news, causes, issues, plights, new movies. There’s a lot of stuff out there. That said, I know a lot of things. Last night I recalled a song from a zillion years ago on very little description. Title and artist. I know about a lot of things and I know how to find out about a lot of things. So I guess you could say I’m aware. But of what?

As I grow older, the thing I’ve found that the one thing that I need to be most aware of is the thing I know least about: myself. The other day, I discussed finding oneself with a friend and we agreed it’s a journey. A marathon as opposed to a sprint, if you will. And it’s never ending. Who I am is an evolving thing. As time goes on, I become more aware of who I am and what I’m all about. As soon as I figure it out, it changes. But I think the key to it is that I realize that. I’m aware of the fact that I don’t have myself figured out. So I keep trying. It’s a losing battle, but the real work is in the process…