Mind your manners; mend your soul. Mind your tongue; mend your heart. Mind your thoughts; mend your deepest self. Mind your temper; mend your childish ways. Mind your choices; mend your body. Mind everything you do, every step you take, and you will walk the path of healing, heart, and transformation. The mending is all up to you.

Be not afraid of that which comes to guide you. Guidance comes in many forms, both clearly stated and shown, but also shrouded in mystery. Everyday life itself contains all the guidance needed. It is the work of the spiritual warrior to remain always attuned, ready to receive and act upon that which comes to show the way forward. That is the key word here, “forward,” for a warrior knows that no matter what arises in life, the journey always is one of growth and forward movement.

A warrior is aware. A warrior seeks always that which is beneficial, nurturing, and that which will sustain a long journey. But being aware and taking care of the self are not enough. A spiritual warrior knows that no life is complete or fulfilling without action. Action leads to experience. Experience leads to knowing. A warrior knows these things. The goal is to learn by experience. But do not be fooled into thinking that every opportunity is an experience of import. No, the warrior must decide which path to take, which experience is the one that will lead forward, which path is the path of heart.

Enjoy some moments of repose throughout your day. With intent to calm the busy mind, still the nerves, and mend the body and soul, allow peacefulness to reign within. In so doing, remind the self that you are connected to nature, as bright and clear as the sun, as serene and mysterious as the moon, as calm and flowing as the waters, as brisk and cooling as the winds, as solid and nurturing as the earth. Use your intent to change yourself by invoking these connections. Be at one with your natural environment, at ease in your life, moment to moment stretching your repose to fuller embodiment of all that you naturally are. Take time to nurture the self in this way and reunite with your calming inner self, fully available, at your beck and call.

Wear love and compassion on the outside, consciously, like a feathered cloak ruffling in the winds of each day, as natural as the tides, the sunrise and sunset, the moon and stars. Let this feathered cloak spread its wings throughout the day to carry you from incident to incident, showing you where love and compassion live within you and where to send it without. Use it, allowing it to take you to places you have never gone, to experiences you desire, and to interactions you only dream of. Taking your focus off the troubles of the self, let love and compassion become your new fuel, the catalyst to spreading your wings and the means of enacting change in your life. Love and compassion, such simple and yet such powerful energies, so easy to access, if you dare. Do you dare to spread your wings today?