Listen to the poem
I AM the WARRIOR
Earth embraces me
Centers me and graces me
With infinite safety
For the courage to face me
I am not afraid
And in my deepest vulnerability
I am nourished compassionately
With comforting stability, feminine fertility
Rooted deep in her soil
I feel the pleasure of her texture
The richness in the darkness
For life springs forth from hardness
My fear and my fearlessness
I love
I am of the earth
I am the warrior grounded
Water washes over me
Oceans of devotion
Giving voice to the unspoken
Waves of pure emotion
Dredging up what’s at the core
Crashing hard against the shore
I surrender
Tears are shed with empathy
Rivers always carry me
Waterfalls astound me
Rain pours down around me
All inducting me, instructing me
To dive into the depth of me
To help me weep and scream and scrub me clean
Of points of view, never true
Of who I thought I was or had to be
Until I bathe in my divinity
Honor the sanctity, of all of who I’m meant to be
I am whole
I am of the water
I am the warrior unwounded
Fire ignites in me
From sparks of strength, tenacity
Ceremony calls to me, raw and searing honesty
The fire burns
The heart yearns, the soul learns
To laugh and love and mourn and cry
To purify, to learn to die
I am willing
Preparation, inspiration, transformation
Of every wound and wayward inclination
To sit with them, rage at them
Uncage them and fling them
Into the fire
Flames that roar with pure desire
I am alive
I am of the fire
I am the warrior rebirth
Air breathes into me
Creates me, animates me
Initiates and celebrates all my creativity
Melodies inside a breeze
Whispers heard through leaves of trees
The messages in all of these, I do receive
I am listening
Winds find their way beneath my wings
Lifting me toward resplendent things
Joy and love and all my dreams
I aspire to fly higher
Like the eagle flies above open skies
Elevation, imagination, revelation
Making the most of this incarnation
I expand
I am of the air
I am the warrior ascended
Ether humbles me
Subtlety, tranquility, endless possibility
The magic of alchemy
Lives within and all around me
In worlds between worlds, my heart unfurls
Nowhere, nothing and no one
Anywhere, anything and anyone
Energy stirring, recurring and transferring
Who I am becoming, beckons me forth
I am everywhere, I am everything, I am everyone
And as I float in the stillness
Stand witness to forgiveness
Bask in the brilliance, of all things luminous
I remember why I’m here
To live this life of service, fulfillment of my purpose
And my spirit sings with the angels
I am grateful
I am of the ether
I am the warrior transcendent
I Am the Warrior Poem & Painting Reveal
The Story of the Warrior
Lauren’s very first message to me came over WhatsApp while I was working in my garden. I still remember it because the moment I saw her photo attached to her contact, somewhere inside of me I knew the painting was going to be a portrait. I had never done a portrait before and my heart did a little secret dance with anticipation. Within about a nanosecond of having that thought I had let it go and forgotten about it entirely.
When we first spoke, Lauren shared her deep connection with Eagle energy. We talked about possibly using an eagle theme for the project and my mind started going down this path for a bit. Our second conversation was much longer and deeper. Lauren shared openly and eloquently about her life. She had lived through challenges and illness and had come through to the other side. She had found strength inside herself that she didn’t know existed. She also had learned to accept and love all of who she was, allowing herself to celebrate her shadow as well as her light. There was such a playful side to Lauren as well as a serious deep woman.
At the time Lauren was creating a series of workshops that would take people through a healing journey utilizing the five elements earth, water, fire, air and ether. She talked about the elements and what they meant to her personally. She had a deep connection to each one and felt supported and nourished by them as well as feeling a part of them.
She had a courageous warrior-like spirit and valued the process of digging deep into all corners of herself in order to grow, transform and live in her wholeness. This is what she lived and this is what she taught.
The poem “I am the warrior” was inspired by all of this. Lauren and her connection to herself, the universe she dwells in, her tenacity for transforming and love of transcendance. This was all weaved into her connection to each of the five elements.
Lauren showed me a painting that someone she knew had commissioned for themselves. It was a portrait. She loved it and wondered if we could do a portrait too. I remembered that first moment I had seen her contact photo on whats app. We had circled right back to it. A sign that it was meant to be, and so it was, we were doing a portrait.
The painting took me longer to do than any other project I’ve done to date. I probably started it over at least five times. In the end, Lauren with all the elements around her, including the eagle for air and ether coming out of her ears was completed. I learned and grew so much in doing it and am so grateful for Lauren’s spaciousness with the process.
Lauren keeps the painting and poem in her alter room. It is amongst her most sacred shamanic pieces.