A Lonely Warrior

A Lonely Warrior
Some battles are to be fought alone. There is simply no one else who is to be a part these skirmishes. these clashes are certainly some of the toughest battles in life particularly because they are fought without a lot of arsenal. There is just one sword to counter the countless blows dealt by your foe. To cap it all, you are the only one who is to deal with all its intricacies, and bear all the stress and    strain of losing it. you are more likely to lose it, you can be sure. This is not a pessimist’s view, but a part of the several realities of life I have learnt. The ordeal is made all the more tough by the truth that the sword is made more blunt with each blow it counters.

A blunt sword works against your priorities of winning every battle, and to cap it all, it cannot be sharpened, nor can it be changed with a sharper one. It is only to get dulled with each passing aeon of time as you win one battle after another. These battles cannot be made any tougher or easier than they already are. There is simply no sense in trying to make them any easier or tougher than they already are; there is no need to. The inherent level of difficulty adds to the mirth you are going to discover whenever the battle is finally won. You are going to win a lot of battles, you can be sure. You have to fight every battle you step into. You are never given a choice.

They are always customised to suit you and all your intricacies. The only point to be borne in mind is that you have to be a solitary warrior marching on towards your foe, you have to do it alone. You are not going to get a companion in this battle, you have to fight it alone. It is never easy, but it isn’t as tough too as it all appears to be. At the end of the day, you are the only one who is to be celebrated as the victor. This is quite a relief when you realise you are the only one who is to be crowned; even the thought of being coronated is in itself quite exciting. Victory is always sweet, and it is the sweetest when it is achieved after a long and bitter battle.

These battles are quite tough, they really are, but they have to be fought and won, and they have to be fought and won all alone. There is simply no other option but to win the battle. This is a part of a pact all of us have had with our fate. Our fate seems to be determined to counter our efforts in the best possible manner, but the best part of the deal is that everyone is assigned his or her share of artillery which is enough to counter all blows dealt on oneself. The share of shields and armoury one has access to always seems to be insufficient, but it is actually always in proportion to the number of blows to be dealt on you and potentials of your foe. There is someone who has a precise count of the number of blows you are going to have to bear, and He has issued instructions to your fate to cease all blizzards aimed at hitting you once the count is up.

The count always seems to be more than what you can bear, but it is always in proportion to your capacity to bear pain. You writhe and wince in pain, but it is never more than what you can bear. Had it been unbearable, a lot of us would not have been walking the world today. Everyone has been tried and tested, but everyone’s trials have been of the kind one can bear with. They have never crossed a particular limit set out by  your fate.

There is always a typical catharsis you get to swim in once you are out of all this mess. The water isn’t very deep, but it isn’t very shallow either. It is only good enough to make you feel good. Practically, you get to float on it, and this is what makes you feel on top of the world. This is what being victorious feels like. All contentions that held ground before you plunged into the battle seem puny and insignificant from the height you float at. It may not be a very high platform one gets to stand at, it may still be a bit wobbly,  but what is significant is that it appears to be high and lofty before the depths one was at only a while back. The change is significant. What counts is the fact that you have won a race against time that seemed to be impossible some time ago. You find yourself at the top of the highest point in the whole world.

This is a world where silence speaks louder than words. A lot of silent monoliths scream out a lot of other truths of life. Life is to go on, and it is  going to bring you before countless other battles, and they are certainly not going to be easier than the ones you have been through. This is when you are going to call all battles you fought at an earlier instance ‘easy’.

Practically, everything appears easier than today. All problems you stand before today, all contentions you have to face today, and all avenues you have to cross today are, or at least appear to be tougher than any you have ever come across. There is simply no way of making them easier or even tougher. They are certainly the most important ones. The only way out is a firm belief in the Persian adage ‘this too shall pass’.

All of us need a ring with these four words inscribed on it like King Solomon.