The Warrior Within

One of the speeches I recently listened to from Dr. Jordan Peterson encouraged people to find the beast within themselves and then tame it. He said that it was not a docile person that was good for this world. Instead, it was a strong person who understand how to regulate their strength which was good. That got me thinking about Psalms 37:11 from the Bible. That verse says “the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”

I looked up what it meant to be meek. I originally thought that a meek person did not have the capacity for anger or strong reactions. The origin of the word told a different story. A meek person possesses great strength and power and greater discipline over that strength and power. This gives a different meaning to the entire psalm in my mind. This means Peterson was right. It means we are designed to develop our strength and also to develop our rule over our strength.

When a person is capable of controlling their emotions instead of allowing their emotions to control them, they are in a position to develop strength. What is dangerous is when a person develops strength or a capacity for a strong reaction without first honing their capacity for self-control. When I was a kid studying martial arts, my instructor explained that learning inner strength and balance was more valuable than learning to fight.

He taught that the initial fight was always the battle within. When we learn to win the fight against being reactive, we are finally in a place where it makes sense to develop strength that can be expressed externally. I would challenge you to take some time to sit quietly and meditate on the words balance and strength. Allow a picture to form in your mind of you as a warrior who commands the army of his or her emotions. Then, see that you are unprovokable. See that you are the one in front of your emotions as they wait for your command.