“You know they’d never do it for you,” said Mary. “They’d sit in their palaces and eat caviar while you burned.”
“And if I stop,” said Grace, her eyes finding her friends, “what of our entire way of life? What future will the children have? I have to cut a path and pragmatism has its own demands.”
“That it does,” said Mary. “Be careful out there. Heroes don’t grow on trees. We can’t replace the likes of you.”
“I’ll do my best to stay alive,” said Grace, pulling on her winter coat, her face hugged in fur. “It is what it is. My path is my path. Chin up, Mary. When life becomes an interesting story, it’s always the worst of times.”
I am the servant of the meek, the master of the strong and the enemy of the evil. Choose where you stand carefully because I always win; it is what champions do. So ask for help, follow or run... the choice is yours.
I told you long ago that I would be the champion, one for all, in the dream of hearing, "and all for one" - to bring unity. Winning is only such when it is for everyone, when the champion shares the podium with the loving connections that were as wind beneath blessed wings. I am an individual, proud of my achievement, yet I only make sense as part of the many, as part of a healthy community of others striving to protect and bring health. So, here I stand, having won my peace so we can win ours. I walked the map of my scars, yet only by the light of so many handmade lanterns, and am forever indebted to those brave angels, those who sang of our human soul in all weathers from every generation that has passed. I was the student of those who spoke so boldly of love even when the price of doing so was high. From them I learned the lesson that it is by walking boldly in the winds of our storms that we strengthen and emerge victorious, ready to help others. And so this prize of love, this peace of self-trust, this fragile flame that survives hurricanes, belongs to all brave souls who seek the noble ways of love, their deeds self-monitored for noble intentions, infused with love, empathy, kindness and compassion for all creation. For when love is the north of our compass, we are able to navigate, to be the captain upon any sea.
If you believe you can be a champion, you will be. If you believe you can stride over frontiers, you can. For just as muscles get bigger and stronger with use, so does the brain... it is a physical organ after all... still a part of the body. And so, whatever you feel is your mission, your duty for the self, others and Earth... become the gold standard of that mission. If you can imagine everyone setting out to find a different set of GPS coordinates, their own personal geo-cache, that's what we have in reality. It's your own treasure, my love, so really own it, make it yours.