The Way of the Warrior | The True Essence of Newfound Purpose

The Warrior Class. The elite and protected caste that is unequivocally protected by its own tribe. Looked upon from outsiders with awe, confusion, and discontent yet it matters not to the warrior; the samurai, the ronin.

Retirement from service feels a lot like the saying, “It’s better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in war.” I live my life now in retrospective solitude, dissimilar to what was once a great warrior steeped in many battles. However, I now oversee the garden that blooms my life. My katana maintains its battle-ready edge yet remains resolutely secure in the scabbard; attached to my waist. My reflexes remain sharp, my wit is my ally, and my moral compass remains true in this world of illusion.

Though we have all been here in the past, we now presently navigate this Earthy school as devoted students with passionate desire to finally overcome our karmic ties to pass into the future promised world.

Through the Bushido code, I focus exercising my innate moral ethos in a world of immorality. Not remembering my last incarnation due to the veil of forgetting, I navigate this new, strange world, full of bright lights and distractions through faith and devotion. I practice the art of kendo daily to move energy through and out the body yet, remain steadfast until I AM called to return to the afterlife.

I will always remain a samurai and live the code of Bushido. The main goal of Bushido is to create samurai who will fight for all they believe in without losing their humanity. Some of us have misplaced our humanity along our journey. To return to the code is the true essence of newfound purpose.

The seven interpreted virtues of the Bushido:

1. Compassion (jin):  Living in kindness and compassion allows one to balance love, give grace and forgive fellow humans in an illusory world. The secret to life is forgiveness of others.

• Righteousness & Integrity (gi): Honesty, justice and integrity allow the warrior to gain trust and creditability from his fellow samurais and tribe. The righteous warrior knows when and how to act accordingly and spares nothing in the face of wickedness.

• Heroic Courage (yuuki): Living a fulfilled life amongst darkness and dragons does not deter the samurai. The Bushido samurai runs towards the screams and sounds of clashing swords while recognizing the risk and personal sacrifice. Become the hard target to evil.

• Respect (rei): Bushido calls for the samurai to practice reverence to his sensei, his elders and to the clan. In doing so, the samurai earns respect from his sensei, his elders, and the clan. Respect is shown easily in so many ways yet is the hardest code to earn and maintain.

• Honesty (makoto): The samurai’s only as good as his katana, word, and deed. To speak the truth and atone for one’s authenticity allows others to establish their perspective of the samurai. The condition of one’s katana serves as the object of the samurai’s honesty.

• Honor (meiyo): Empty judgement from others happens throughout life. But only true judgement of oneself comes in the afterlife. The actions one takes here in the world to live reputably come from one’s honor. The reflection of the outer world comes from the mirror within one’s inner self.

• Duty & Loyalty (chuugi): We all come here for approximately 25,000 days to execute our commitments; both morally and ethically. To those we form relationships with while here to accompany us through catalysts, the samurai carries the responsibility to establish ironclad trust.

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This first appeared in The Havok Journal on November 22, 2023.

Robb is a retired active Army veteran of 21 years, primarily serving as a Cavalry Scout. Having accomplished multiple combat tours, diverse global assignments and leadership roles, Robb retired as a First Sergeant of Shadow Troop, 1-33 CAV (Rakassans). From there, Robb went on to attempt his luck in the civilian sector as a Reliability Engineer at an international paper processing company during the pandemic. Not quite satisfied and feeling the draw to serve once again, Robb made his way back behind the gate working with some of the nation’s tip of spear warfighters on Fort Liberty, NC.

It was during this time that he was drawn into an esoteric spiritual journey of self-discovery and began peeling back the onion of how vanquishing spiritual warfare can serve as a personal force multiplier. Dropping all ties to dogmatic religious principles, Robb solely embarked into studies of the mystical and metaphysical for the answers of life. Now forged with this newfound purpose, Robb blends his current path of spiritual ascension along with his past experience of the rigors of military service in order to uplift the future of his brothers and sisters in arms.

“The answers we all seek lie in potential.”

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.