Wisdom of the Peaceful Warrior

In an era filled with war-time politics, protests, and devastation, the phrase 'Peaceful Warrior' can seem to be a hopeless oxymoron. I mean, really...War...Peace...aside from naming a famous novel, the two don't really coincide.

So, I admit that when I first got The Wisdom of the Peaceful Warrior, I wasn't all that excited to read it. I was appropriately glad to have 'won' the contest, but it took 3 weeks of sitting on my bedside table before I actually cracked the book open.

I haven't read the first book, or any of Dan Millman's other books, so I had no idea what to expect. I have; however, read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, My Name is Ishmael, Sophie's World, and other semi-similar books, so once I started, the format became familiar.

As Hak said in his review, in this book Millman excerpts the most influential passages from The Peaceful Warrior and explains them in more depth, answering questions that have been asked of him in the 25 years since the original publication.

I acknowledge that the book would have been even more useful had I read the first book (after-all, the tag line on the recent book is 'A Companion to the Book that Changes Lives'). But, I also think that if anyone wants a brief but comprehensive survey of Millman's philosophy and way of life, this book can be incredibly beneficial standing alone.

I wholeheartedly enjoyed this book, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a different perspective on our world and how we live in it. As an athlete, Millman is unsurpassed and his athletic ability is evident in his writing. He might not address specific triathlon or running or even gymnastic (he's an Olympic gymnast, for those who didn't know) issues, but his day to day prowess can help anyone - and can especially help those that are as driven to succeed in work, athletics, or just about anything. His philosophy only requires commitment (something with which all athletes easily identify); after that, it's all simple.

This month, the book goes on to TriBoomer, who was the randomly picked winner of the contest for February. He'll get the traveling book to which he'll add his signature and send on its way at the end of March, and he'll get a copy for himself to keep in his library. Go to his blog for the next chance to win.

I dog-eared more pages than could possibly be quoted, so I'll just end with a few of my favorites.

"Even the idea of 'living in the present moment' is a paradox, since the present moment doesn't actually exist! By the time I utter the word 'now', between nnnn and owww a thousand moments have come and gone. We cannot grasp the moment or seize the day; all we can do is go with the flow of time. There's no past, no future, no present - no time at all. When I speak of 'staying in the present,' I'm referring to focusing on what's right in front of us and not getting preoccupied with either memories or imagined futures."

"One of the lessons most difficult for me to grasp was that my emotional and mental suffering came not so much from what was happening, but from my thoughts about what was happening. As Mark Train wrote, "I've had many troubles in my life, most of which never happened.""

"Anyone can claim to be happy - how can we know if it's true? Is there a difference between feeling happy and acting happy? And which is more controllable - feeling happy or behaving as we were? And here's another question worth pondering: Would you rather live with an enlightened person who acted crazy, or a crazy person who acted enlightened?"

"Now is the warrior's moment, and this is a warrior's realization: No matter what we're thinking or feeling - whether we're sad or motivated, shy or assertive, confident or full of doubt - the quality of our lives will always depend, in large part, on what we do today. Today is the doorway to the future; today we build the foundation for what follows."