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Way of the Warrior Patinaed bronze, Edition of 75   [   More Images   ]

The Way of the Warrior

"The Way of the Warrior" is a life-size bronze sculpted and donated to the Rancho Feliz Charitable Foundation, Inc. by John M. Soderberg. It was his vision to capture in art the magic and equal exchange of energy that occurs through the "Guardian Warrior's" service work in the border town slums. One of the objectives of the "Rancho Feliz Guardian Warriors" is to redefine what it means to be "macho". Our definition of the "Warrior" is not an intimidating, aggressive, self-centered tough guy. Rather, the modern day "Warrior" displays his or her "machoness" through compassion, responsibility and action - by looking out for those who cannot fend for themselves. In this age of evolving consciousness, it takes more strength and courage to lift somebody up than it does to knock someone down. The modern day "Warrior" specializes in positive "construction" rather than negative "destruction".

Through action the "Rancho Feliz Guardian Warriors" are establishing a new paradigm of relating to one another as they set new examples for the young people of the United States and Mexico. The message is clear when bus loads of people and a parade of shiny Harley Davidson motorcycles with leather clad riders roar across the border - with big John Soderberg dressed as Santa on the lead Harley - to help the children and seniors who haven't been given the same opportunities as those available in America. For those who experience these events, service work takes on a whole new meaning. Charity is not just something for the "candy-striper" volunteers at the local hospital - our "Guardian Warriors" are the "tough guys and gals" who serve their fellow man. We realize that, but for the fortunes of birth, we too could have been born on the other side of the barbed wire fence called a border. It is a remarkable transformation in consciousness. Their being allowed to serve their fellow humans gives them a new sense of purpose and connectedness. It gives them a meaning and spirituality that their material/technological/speed and comfort oriented world back in the United States doesn't provide.

As profoundly stated by Mother Teresa, "There is more poverty in the United States than in any other country in the world - for it is spiritual poverty - poverty of the soul".

By serving others the Guardian Warriors feed their own souls, for service frees one from the constrictive bondage of the self. In an "instant gratification" consumer oriented culture of "rampant individualism" this feeding of the soul, this awakened sense of community and global responsibility, gives life meaning far beyond one's selfish concerns. Hence the equal exchange of energy referred to above. Givers become receivers and receivers become givers. It's an understanding that, in an interconnected world, one's giving - not one's taking - creates one's getting. The original bronze sculpture "The Way of the Warrior" symbolizes the following:

1. The strength and power (as seen in the biceps and broad shoulders) of the "Warrior" as he lifts the small abandoned girl up and out of the slum and her inherited cycle and prison of hopelessness. The "tough" look of the "Warrior" symbolizing the authentic "fearlessness" that it takes to go against the grain and leave the self-centered ego behind - giving others hope through one's own energy, power and compassion.
2. The arms of the figures create a circle representing the ancient Eastern philosophical concept of Yin-Yang, the coming together of seeming opposites to create a stronger, balanced whole. The figures, the male and the female, the strong and the weak, the large and the small, the have and the have not, each give to the other. One cannot exist without the other and each is, in fact, part of the other.
3. The book in the "Warrior's" right hand titled "Hope" represents education as the "Warrior's" gift and tool to enable and empower the child to transcend a life of poverty and despair - for education is the one thing that can be given to a child that can never be taken away.
4. The Teddy Bear also held in the "Warrior's" right hand has a heart on it that represents the love, nurturing and care offered by the "Warrior" to the lonely, frightened and abandoned child.
5. The apple on the stand is symbolic of food and sustenance. Both physical and spiritual for hunger has two natures - the material hunger of the stomach and the spiritual hunger of the soul.
6. The pattern on the "Warrior's" T-shirt is the Tibetan "Knot of Eternity" an age-old symbol representing the "interconnectedness" or "interweaving" of all mankind. This understanding or awareness of our intrinsic "interconnectedness" fosters an awakened sense of responsibility and stewardship to those who were not born with the same opportunities.
7. The "ever watchful eyes" on the back of the "Guardian Warrior's" vest represent the "Warrior's" constant vigilance and care for the less fortunate.
8. In return the child in the tattered dress is holding up her right hand and offering the "Warrior" the only thing she owns on earth - a small home made angel doll (called a poppet) with a broken wing. This gesture is symbolic of the child (through providing the "Warrior" an arena in which he or she can selflessly "serve" others) giving back to the "Warrior" a piece of his or her soul that was lost living in a weighted world of "things".
9. The gaze of love and compassion between the two represents the equal exchange of energy. No longer is it just the benevolent "giver" and the lowly "receiver" - a one way flow of energy that dissipates and is lost once the charitable transaction is completed. Rather, it is an equal exchange as the "Guardian Warrior" is solving the child's material poverty and in turn the act of "service" is feeding and alleviating the "Warrior's" spiritual poverty.

$18,500.00
(Includes custom walnut stand)
 
100% of artist proceeds from the sale of Way of the Warrior is donated to the
Rancho Feliz Charitable Foundation.
Thank you for supporting this worthy cause.