Sam and Dean Winchester – Warriors of Light
The idea for this compilation came to me while I was sick. I was given Paul Coelho’s book ‘Warrior Of The Light’. Now, I’m not exactly a fan of his writing, though I liked ‘The Alchemist’. When reading his ‘warrior manual’ I sometimes felt reminded of our favourite show and its leading characters.
The last episode in mind, everything is possible now. We don’t know yet where this road will lead to, but Sam and Dean have already proven, via countless pains and sacrifices, that they will do the best they can within that apocalyptic scenario forced upon them.
So, I felt like putting together inspiration and a bit of craziness and came up with this. I hope you will enjoy it.
(All quotes are Coelho’s, and I found the screencaps at homeofthenurry and screencap paradise, stills are property of CW)
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‘Warriors of Light’ are of this world. They do not always make the right decisions.
They suffer over the most trivial things; they have mean thoughts and sometimes believe they are incapable of growing. They frequently deem themselves unworthy of any blessing or miracle.
That’s why they are Warriors of the Light. Because they make mistakes, because they ask themselves questions, because they are looking for a reason they are sure to find it.’
‘Every Warrior of the Light has felt afraid of going into battle.
Every Warrior of the Light has, at some time in the past, lied or betrayed someone.
Every Warrior of the Light has trodden a path that was not his.
Every Warrior of the Light has suffered for the most trivial of reasons.
Every Warrior of the Light has, at least once, believed that he was not a Warrior of the Light.
Every Warrior of the Light has hurt someone he loved.
That is why he is a Warrior of Light, because he has been through all this and yet has never lost hope of being better than he is.’
‘The Warrior of the Light sometimes behaves like water, flowing around the obstacles he encounters.
Occasionally, resistance might mean destruction, and so he adapts to the circumstances. He accepts, without complaint, that the stones in his path hinder his way through the mountains.
Therein lies the strength of water: It cannot be touched by a hammer or ripped to shreds by a knife. The strongest sword in the world cannot scar its surface. The river adapts itself to whatever route proves possible, but the river never forgets its one objective: the sea. So fragile at its source, it gradually gathers the strength of the other rivers it encounters.’
‘The warrior knows that no man is an island. He cannot fight alone; whatever his plan, he depends on other people. He needs to discuss his strategy. A Warrior of the Light does not place the responsibility for his actions on anyone else.’
‘The Warrior of the Light has learned that it is best to follow the light.
He has behaved treacherously, he has lied, he has strayed from the path , he has courted darkness (…). Then an abyss suddenly opens up. One can take a thousand steps in safety, but a single step to many can put an end to everything. The warrior stops before he destroys himself.
When he makes that decision, he hears four comments: “You always do the wrong thing. You’re too old to change. You’re no good. You don’t deserve it.”
He looks up at the sky. And a voice says “My dear, everyone makes mistakes. You’re forgiven, but I cannot force that forgiveness on you. It’s your choice.”
The Warrior of the Light accepts that forgiveness.’
A warrior knows that an angel and a devil are both competing for his sword hand.
The devil says: “You will weaken. You will not know exactly when. You are afraid.” The angel says: “You will weaken. You will not know exactly when. You are afraid.”
The warrior is surprised, as the devil and the angel have said the same thing.
The devil continues: “Let me help you.” And the angel says: “I will help you.”
The Warrior understands the difference. And he chooses the angel’s hand.
The Warrior of the Light unwittingly takes a false step and plunges into the abyss.
Ghosts frighten him and solitude torments him. His aim had been to fight the Good Fight, and he never imagined that this would happen to him, but it did. Shrouded in darkness, he makes contact with his master.
“Master, I have fallen into the abyss,” he says, “the waters are deep and dark.”
“Remember one thing,” replies his master, “you do not drown simply by plunging into water, you only drown if you stay beneath the surface.”
And the warrior uses all his strength to escape from his predicament.
The friends of the Warrior of the Light ask him where he draws his energy from. He says “from the hidden enemy.”
Yesterday’s pain is the Warrior of the Light’s strength.
The Warrior of the Light views life with tenderness and determination.
He stands before a mystery, whose solution he will one day find. Every so often, he says to himself: “This life is insane.”
He is right, He is surrendering to the miracle of the everyday, he notices that he cannot always foresee the consequences of this actions. Sometimes he acts without even knowing that he is doing so, he saves someone without even knowing he is saving them, he suffers without even knowing that he is sad.
Yes, life is insane. But the great wisdom of the Warrior lies in choosing his insanity wisely.
The Warrior of the Light knows how to lose.
He does not treat defeat as if it was a matter of indifference to him, He accepts defeat as defeat and does not make a victory out of it.
Painful wounds, the loneliness of losing, all leave a bitter taste. But at these times he says to himself: “I fought for something and did not succeed. I lost the first battle.”
These words give him renewed strength. He knows that no one wins all the time.
“The most important quality on the spiritual path is courage,” said Gandhi.
The world seems threatening and dangerous to cowards. They end up making the bars of their own prison.
The Warrior of the Light projects his thought beyond the horizon. He knows that if he does not do anything for the world, no one else will.
So he fights the Good Fight and he helps others.
We’ve always known that Sam and Dean Winchester are strong forces of light, no matter how dark their paths might have seemed. Eagerly we follow their exploits. And that’s what we are going to do for as long as this show will be gracing our tv screens. Hey, it’s the best show on television, and I’m pretty sure you knew that already.
omgwtfbbq. I totally LOVE you for doing this. It’s so true too! Winchester is one my favourite flavours of warrior, and Coelho somehow summed it up perfectly.
It’s been said, one of the reason this show is so good, is that the characters are very real, very human. They’re not invincible superheroes, they are people with weaknesses and people who gain strength from their mistakes.
…and the caps you chose were absolutely perfect
Jasminka, this is beautiful, both the sentiment and the pictures you chose to reflect the meaning of the words. I love our boys — they are not perfect, they are not always right, they are not invincible. But they keep trying, striving to do good. It’s what makes them believable, and what makes us root for them and hurt with them. Thank you so much for this.
Wonderful article Alice!
Didn’t know about the Coelho book, have to look it up…
But… Do you know the strange feeling when you think of something and at the same moment you hear someone talking about the same thing on TV or radio – like you’re psychic? *lol* That’s just happened to me when I read the title of your article. ‘Warriors of Light’ 😯 – Over here in Germany they’re currently playing a song very often on the radio: ‘Krieger des Lichts’ (Warriors of Light) by Silbermond. When I heard the song for the first time immediately I had to think of Sam and Dean! 😉 – Great minds think alike – huh? 😀
Guess, you’ve never heard of the song or the band…
Their song on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP9_bcDPW28
and the lyrics, with English translation:
http://lyricstranslate.com/en/krieger-des-lichts-warriors-light.html
And BTW… even if I don’t comment on all of your wonderful articles… I read! 😉 – Keep on the great work!
All great warriors are flawed, that’s what makes the show so compelling, their humanity, their willingness to not let the dark part of the journey keep them in the darkness. Choosing to go down swinging.
😳 Sorry… of course… Thank you Jasminka for the article!
I’m sorry. I didn’t even read your article. I was completely engulfed with the pictures that accompanied them. I was reduced to tears. You picked the sweetest yet tragic pictures to depict my favourite conjoined twins. I was squeeing then making the saddest faces as my heart clenched along with theirs.:cry::
My kid sister, who’s 13, asked why I love SPN when it’s often so dark… this is why. Thanks for putting this together, it’s so fitting…
Narcissus, Deborah, Randal, Margaux, anene and elenaM, thank you so much for your sweet comments.
Narcissus and Deborah – you’re absolutely right. It’s the imperfections of our fave brothers that touch us the most … and their struggle to deal with them. I believe they can serve as role models, too, in terms of how-to-deal-with-tragedy-and-not-give-up. It worked for fakeDean and fakeSam, didn’t it?
Randal, that’s it – if they need to got down, should that be their fate, they will do it the only way they know: swinging, embracing all the flaws they own. That’s what I always love a lot about other people – seeing their ‘flaws’ and how they deal with it. We respect people often for their achievements, but I think deep down we love them for their weaknesses. I guess I do. It’s human.
anene, those pic’s rank among my favourite. I couldn’t help but use them as they popped up in my head while I was reading Coelho’s book.
elenaM, yes, exactly. No matter how dark the story gets, there is always an undercurrent of hope.
Love, Jas
P.S:Margaux, I do know Silbermond, the singer has indeed a distinctive voice… Sometimes there are no coincidences… Thanks, Jas
This one’s perfect Jas, loved the quotes you choose and the pictures.
I’m not a fan of Paulo Coelho either but know I want to read this book of his. It’s almost like if the book was inspired on the boys (if I’m not mistaken it’s a recent book), maybe Paulo is watching the show 😉
Yes, Supernatural is the best show on tv, and I will be here enjoying the ride as long as they want.
Jasminka, exactly. flawed, marked, scarred, rebellious, warm, far more interesting than cold, sterile perfection. The romantic hero/heroine.
WOW Jas, I loved it! Everything is so true and so apt of the boys. Warriors are humans and humans are flawed. How the warriors deal with the flaws defines who they are. Supernatural is a great TV show. Beautiful screen caps> So fitting. TRhanks for sharing.
Dany, Randal, and Sablegreen – thanks a lot, guys!
Dany, it’s such a thrill to be on that horse… though I’ve been heard to say ‘damn you, Eric Kripke’ quite often lately.
And as for the book, my edition says it was published in 2003, it doesn’t seem to be well-known, though.
Randal, ‘flawed, marked, scarred, rebellious, warm’ – isn’t that what most of us are or at least strive to be? I’ve met people who thrived on sterility and perfection. Poor bastards. No passion in their lives. I’ll take the flawed soul over that any time. Hell, I am one. Aren’t we all?
Sablegreen, yes, the brothers’ humanity always touches us, doesn’t it?! We can relate, as something deep in us is being stirred…love that. I owe the creative bunch of this production another huge thank you for bringing this show to life…
Love, Jas
😆 :roll:: :ugeek: 😯 são meu amores esses adoooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooo…..!!!!!!!!!!!!!