So you say you want peace?  Well hear a piece of this as you take a commitment to be carrier, or should we say, a warrior, of light.

Tomorrow you will put on your armor before you leave your front door, but the only one who will know its shine and immediate security is you.   
Your armor will be your beliefs, and let them be unspoken.  Know their meaning and know their impact, but share them with the world through action, not speech.
Your armor will be your “unbias,” for the light warriors, while they know their passions, carry a willingness to fight for all beings.  Selectivity in compassion only divides.
Your armor will find strength from humble confidence.  Believe in your value to the extent that you are not battling to prove something of yourself but to fight for something of others.

Tomorrow you will wield a sword, though made of light in the form of hope, wisdom, and resolute.
Your sword will be your words… speaking with intentionality and with words that feed the soul of peace and not conflict, mindfulness and not anger.
Your sword will swing with grace, realizing that mindful impact is only done with mindful movement.
Your sword will be borrowed, used, replicated, and changed, for all wisdom is gained through experience and your work as a warrior will impact that of others.

Tomorrow you will hug your shield to your body, though its protection will take place not only in your hands, but your head and heart.
Your shield will be your compass.  Use it well and direct yourself to the truth in every situation and know that both oppressed and oppressors may be in need of direction.
Your shield will carry your family crest.  Acknowledge where you came from as your honest story and your honest solution are the vulnerability that produces honesty in others.
Your shield will break, not because it is weak, but because cracks in our protection let us know what it means to heal.

Tomorrow you will mount your horse before soaring off into the brave fight, for this is not something to fight alone.
Your horse will be your support, your comfort, and your warmth, for us light warriors need to carry home with us as we say hello and goodbye around every corner.
Your horse will allow you to travel, for even stasis has an equal reaction.
Your horse will need to be fed, tended to, and taken care of when hurt, for we cannot ignore those who brought our soul into our fight.

Your job as a light warrior will bring you to the most disturbing parts of the world.  

Wars begin.

Curses shoot through ears like knives.

Scars are made.

Lives are left unpatched.

And what do we have?  An ability… to stand as a “solidaritous” front against all odds of hate, scarcity, and oppression as a field of warriors who carry nothing but the ultimate light and ultimate good to all whom they come in contact with.

Your job as a light warrior will bring you to the pinnacle of creation and worth.  

Walk forward with your head up.

You are brave.

You are sacred.

You are light.

And light cannot be destroyed.

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Anooj Bhandari is an Ohio native currently living in Morocco as a Youth Asset Builder for the U.S. Peace Corps. He is a converser, socializer, adventurer, reader, writer, runner, punner, and justice fighter, though perhaps not in that order.