Queen of Swords

During the Soldier's Heart book group we learned a discussion protocol called "Final Word."

Each person selects a relatively brief quotation from the book. Person One tells the others where to find the passage and then waits for everyone else to turn to that page. Person One reads the quote, then the person to their left shares their reactions, thoughts, etc. to the passage. Each person speaks in turn, without interruptions or questions. The person who selected the quote is the last to speak, getting "the final word." Then the person to their left shares a quote and the process repeats.

It turned out to be a very effective process for sharing and exploration. We didn't have time to discuss each line of the book in-depth, but this protocol allowed each person to highlight something that had the greatest impact on them, and for each of us to reflect on it and gain insight from each other -- not just about the book but about each other.

I found it especially satisfying because I like to speak my truth by phrasing it with the listener in mind. Having "the final word" meant that I felt I could share far more effectively because I had already heard how the others had reacted to the passage.

The quotation I chose was: Warriorhood is not a role but a psychospiritual identity, an achieved condition of a mature, wise and experienced soul.

As I shared with the group, reading this was like finding at least a partial answer to a question I had carried with me for years. Since late adolescence I have been drawn to the archetype of The Warrior, regarding it with deep respect and admiration. I have both wished to embrace it and known that it is not part of who I am. I am not a warrior, but there is a complementary aspect to my spirit which answers to it.

That spiritual/archetypal reverence has been challenged, however, by the ugliness of warfare, and my personal dismay about the the conflicts of the last few decades. It was hard to feel a desire to honor The Warrior while feeling such deep opposition to the wars in which my country has been engaged. I suspected that my attraction to the Warrior was a romantic, naive illusion, the product of too many adventure stories.

This quotation was a partial answer to my dilemma. It appears in the introduction of a book which deplores much of the way modern wars are fought and the injury it does the souls of soldiers, many of whom enlisted in search of a way to embrace the Warrior archetype and the virtues it represents. (It also addresses civilians, families, and others who are caught up in it, but this quote is about the Warriors.)

The whole book is an elaboration of why the author believes warriorhood is "a psychospiritual condition" and what his work with veterans has led him to believe is necessary for veterans to complete the initiatory journey of becoming warriors. It's powerful, fascinating stuff.

And yes, part of the reason I like it so much is that it answers and affirms those paradoxical longings I've carried with me for so many years.

Remembering and honoring those who have taken on the duties and the risks of serving in the military.

I have not always agreed with the decisions made by those who choose where and why to fight, but I still honor those who have put their life on the line for something more than themselves. I honor those who uphold the ideals of courage, honor, loyalty, fraternity, excellence. I honor those who stand between the predators and those whom they would make their prey.

I pray for peace, and -- lacking that -- wisdom and discretion and honor in the choices made by those who are responsible for the lives and the deadly force represented by the warriors of our world.

I honor _storyteller_ who is back in Iraq and always in my prayers.

I honor uncrowned_king

I honor strandsofchaos and gwynt_y_storm.

I honor Hob.

I just stumbled across a fasciating website: Rachel Papo: Serial Number 3817131

Rachel Papo is an Israeli who was born in 1970 in Columbus, Ohio but was raised in Israel. She began photographing as a teenager and attended a renowned fine-arts high-school in Haifa, Israel. At age eighteen she served in the Israeli Air Force as a photographer. These two intensive years of service inspired her current photographic project titled after her own number during service -- Serial No. 3817131.

I know women have been soldiers for centuries, but I don't often see images of young women carrying fully-functional weapons around as part of their daily routine. I find many of these images both stunning and disturbing.

Like so many soldiers in this world, they seem far too young to be doing what they do.

Last night I found an unexpected book: The Art of Spiritual Warfare (about the inner war of the spirit), based on Sun Tzu, written by a Swedenborgian minister!

So far, I'm enjoying it. More later, when I've gotten into the meat of it and I've had the chance to process it.