They are words that are easy enough to say and which fill vast empty spaces.
There is, however, one word—another small word—that many people have great difficulty in saying: no.
Someone who never says “no,” thinks of himself as generous, understanding, polite, because “no” is thought of as being nasty, selfish, unspiritual.
The Warrior does not fall into this trap. There are times when, in saying “yes” to others, he is actually saying “no” to himself.
That is why he never says “yes” with his lips if, in his heart, he is say
ing “no.”
First: God is sacrifice. Suffer in this life and you will be happy in the next.
Second: People who have fun are childish. Remain tense at all times.
Third: Other people know what is best for us because they have more experience.
Fourth: Our duty is to make other people happy. We must please them even if that means making major sacrifices.
Fifth: We must not drink from the cup of happiness; we might get to like it and we won’t always have it in our hands.
Sixth: We must accept all punishments. We are guilty.
Seventh: Fear is a warning. We don’t want to take any risks.
These are the commandments that no Warrior of the Light can obey.
A very large group of people is standing in the middle of the road, barring the way into Paradise.
The puritan asks: “What are these sinners doing here?”
And the moralist bawls: “The prostitute wants to join the feast!”
The guardian of social values yells: “How can the adulteress be forgiven when she has sinned?”
The penitent rends his clothes: “Why cure a blind man if all he cares about is his illness and when he doesn’t even say thank you?”
The ascetic protests: “You let that woman pour expensive oil on your hair! Why didn’t she sell it instead to buy food?”
Smiling, Jesus holds the door open. And the Warriors of the Light go in, despite the hysterical shouting.
The opponent is wise.
Whenever he can, he makes use of the easiest and most effective of his weapons: gossip. It doesn’t take much effort to use it because others do the work for him. A few misdirected words can destroy months of dedication, years spent in search of harmony.
The Warrior of the Light is often the victim of this trick. He does not know where the blow came from and cannot prove that the gossip is false. Gossip does not allow him the right to defend himself: it condemns without a trial.
When this happens, he puts up with the consequences and the undeserved punishment, for, as he well knows, words are powerful. But he suffers in silence and never uses the same weapon to hit back at his opponent.
The Warrior of the Light is not a coward.
You can give a fool a thousand intellects, but the only one he will want is yours,” says an Arabic proverb. When the Warrior of the Light starts planting his garden, he notices that his neighbor is there, spying. He likes to give advice on when to sow actions, when to fertilize thoughts, and water conquests.
If the Warrior listens to what his neighbor is saying, he will end up creating something that is not his; the garden he is tending will be his neighbor’s idea.
But a true Warrior of the Light knows that every garden has its own mysteries, which only the patient hand of the gardener can unravel. That is why he prefers to concentrate on the sun, the rain, and the seasons.
He knows that the fool who gives advice about someone else’s garden is not tending his own plants.