Listen up or meet the "Inner Warrior"

Let's not mention the job today because I have a cold.  Being sick has given me time to think about what  happened at Tai Chi last week.  It concerns the art of  listening. Only this week I read that the sexiest most popular person at a party was rated the one that listened intently and asked questions.  I wish this research had been around when I was younger  because listening and asking questions was my 'shyness tool' at parties.  My approach was to walk in to a party, grab the first amiable looking person and start asking them lots of questions.

Last week at Tai Chi  my "Inner Warrior" was outed.  In a nutshell, the group wanted to go to park to train but one of us didn't.  This person said she was happy to come back next week because she didn't like to exercise in the park.  It seemed a clear and simple explanation. Suddenly she was being pressured to explain: was it too cold, too windy or too far to walk to the park?  She was put on the spot and started to apologise for being disagreeable.  I didn't think she was being  disagreeable she just didn't want to go to the park. Next moment I could hear a voice above the others say "she doesn't want to go to the park - that's it". It was my inner warrior voice coming out to help and support her.

Our Inner Warrior is that primeval mover and shaker that surfaces in times of trouble and danger.  It's selfless and instinctive and is represented in all measures not just in extreme circumstances which we usually call heroism. I was first aware of my Inner Warrior when I was sixteen. A teacher was questioning a fellow student in class about why she had failed a test.  The girl in question was quietly crying and unable to answer.  I pointed this out to the teacher and suggested he see her after class in private. It made him stop but I have to confess I had trouble with that teacher for my last two years of school. I never regretted doing it as it gave me a feeling of real strength in my life.  That amazing feeling was the risk I took of fronting up to a foe that was bigger than me with the real possibility that I may lose out in some way. The Inner Warrior doesn't think, it acts and in extreme circumstances it will take you to the brink of death to give help to those in need.  

So, the next time you see a dog locked in a hot car, or somebody being belittled or bullied you'll know what that creeping feeling is, it's the Inner Warrior preparing to do battle.