True definition

People often associate the word warrior with something violent. But here lies a different definition. It's not about being someone who whups up on everyone, but someone who protects and defends others. (There's a nice illustration midway down that shows this well.) I'm striving to do this, to be this. To protect others, to defend others. To go beyond myself.

Toward the end of the piece, there is a pullquote that speaks deeply to me.

Life, not culture, color, creed, or behavior, is the most important and universal value. Life is worth defending. This is the goal of our training: to protect life.

And this is great, too:

25 years into my training, all of the talking and philosophizing has really all come down to this:
1. Be a defender of life.
2. Keep going.