The Warriors Voice

Last night I watched the movie “Shake Hands with the Devil” which was based on a book of the same name by Lt. General Romeo Dallaire. The story is that of General Dallaire’s courage to do what he feels is right when faced with adversity on all sidesSynopsis:

Shake Hands with the Devil is the story of a Canadian commander torn between his duty and his conscience when he finds himself eyewitness to hell on earth. In 1993 the United Nations dispatches Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire to far-off Rwanda to oversee a fragile cease-fire. A brilliant, workaholic officer and charismatic commander, Dallaire encounters the shabby–sometimes comically shabby–reality of a typical UN peacekeeping operation: underfunded, over-bureaucratic, and cobbled together from military units from dozens of countries, each with a slightly different agenda. Meanwhile the peace agreement between the rebels, led by the minority ethnic group, the Tutsi, and the French-supported government dominated by the majority group, the Hutu, turns out to rest on shaky ground. Conciliatory speeches are undercut by mysterious massacres. Just months after Dallaire raises the UN flag, an unknown group shoots down the President’s plane. Are the rebels to blame or the Hutu extremists in the President’s own party? (Nobody knows to this day.) With the plane crash, the storm breaks and a secret but long-planned genocidal campaign against the Tutsi minority begins with a night of terror in Kigali.

Trailer:
http://www.dallairemovie.com/trailer.html

Thoughts:

This movie’s tag line is “How many lives can be saved in a fight against indifference, when your only weapon is the courage to stand alone”. This movie truly shows General Dallaire’s courage. He fought when others ran and abandoned the situation hoping nobody would notice. The USA refused to get involved in this situation and Britain followed the USA’s example.

For me this man represents the best example of the Warrior archetype in the King, Warrior, Magician, Lover model which I use to help guide my journey. A solder who stands for what he believes in, who puts his life on the line for his principles and who fights to save the innocent. He had few resources and little help from anyone else, but he tried with everything he had available to him to ensure that the world would notice and not forget Rwanda

This is a man whom I admire for he shows me a way to live at my highest purpose. I thank General Dallaire for his courage in these events and also for the courage to write the book and to continue the fight for justice. I honor him for his works.

Biography:

Romeo dallaire

Lieutenant-General the Honourable Roméo A. Dallaire, O.C., C.M.M., G.O.Q., M.S.C., C.D., (Retired)

Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire is recognized as an advocate of peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding in the world’s most war-torn regions.

For the public at large, nationally and internationally, it is following General Dallaire’s appointment as Commander of the United Nations Observer Mission- Uganda and Rwanda (UNOMUR) and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) on 1 July 1993 that the name Dallaire has been synonymous with courage. In recognition of his exceptional leadership and ability during that mission he was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross.

On his return to Canada, he assumed the simultaneous appointments of Deputy Commander of Land Force Command and Commander of the 1st Canadian Division. In 1998, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General and appointed Assistant Deputy Minister (Human Resources-Military), followed by an appointment as Special Advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff for Officer Professional Development. General Dallaire was medically released from the Canadian Forces in April 2002.

General Dallaire is an Officer of the Order of Canada, Grand Officer of the National Order of Québec and has been awarded the United States Legion of Merit. He is also the first recipient of the Aegis Award on Genocide Prevention, the United Nations Association of Canada’s Pearson Peace Medal. His recently published account of the 1994 Rwandan genocide Shake Hands with the Devil – the Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, has earned international recognition as well as the 2004 Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction and the “Shaughnessy Cohen Prize” for political writing awarded by the Writers’ Trust of Canada.

While a Fellow of the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy, the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University he conducted research in the areas of conflict resolution and the elimination of the use of child soldiers.

General Dallaire was summoned to the Senate on March 24th, 2005. Senator Dallaire continues to write and speak out against human rights abuses, genocide and ethnic cleansing. He continues to focus on human rights and the plight of war affected children in articles and lectures in Canada, the US, the UK, Europe, and Africa. In April, 2006 he was appointed to a United Nations Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

I whole heartedly recommend this movie to anyone who would like to see what a man can do in extraordinary circumstances. Go and see it!

Walk in Peace
Warrior Jevon:In-Service

References:
Excerpts were taken from the press kit of “Shake Hands with the Devil” http://www.dallairemovie.com/press.html

Why do all of those men and women who decide to Climb Mt. Everest hire Sherpa Guides? Are these people that society regards as Heroes really that useless and weak that they need help to ascend the highest peak on our planet? Are we better than them that we feel we can go on our journeys without any assistance?
All of those we admire as outstanding examples of human beings will have at one point or another had some guidance to help them on their way. Our pro athletes have all had, and do have, their trainers and coaches. The stars of stage and screen all have directors guiding and coaching them to get their best performances.
So how am I or any of us better than those we admire? We’re not! As we walk our paths, bettering ourselves, dealing with aspects of our lives to improve them, working on our relationships, marriages, and the host of other things we know we need to work on; how can we expect to do well with out some help or guidance along the way?
Yet recently, while in a discussion regarding counseling and therapy, an argument for not getting help from a professional was; “I have to do the work my self and I don’t want to build a reliance on a professional to do it.”
My reply was, ” In therapy you do, do the work yourself. The therapist doesn’t do it for you.” I then continued on, “and you don’t build a dependence, they are there to guide you, provide a mirror, give you feed back and help guide you to the path, back to the path and along the path.” A therapist or counselor no more does your healing for you than a Sherpa guide carries a climber to the top of a mountain.
So in this issue I would like to list the qualities I look for in a guide. These qualities can change based on the specific nature of the journey. For instance if I wanted to be an Olympic downhill skier I would not go looking for a rowing coach. A rowing coach could be useful for some basic physical fitness techniques, but not around the specifics of the journey I’m on.
General Guidelines:
• I need to trust my guide: Trust is earned and therefore I usually need a few sessions to determine this trust level. This trust has to be in the areas of: Do they have my best interest at heart? Do they provide an accurate mirror back to me? Are they more interested in helping me or the time when our sessions end? Generally when I start work with a new guide I have a basic level of trust. Either I’ve spoken to them on the phone, emailed with them, or ‘interviewed’ them to make sure that I feel comfortable taking a few steps.
• Price: Now most guides need to charge for their time and rightly so however I need to weigh the ‘monetary cost’ of a guide against the cost to me if I don’t do the work. If you feel that you are in need of help, but finance is an issue there are options. When I first started my work I went to an agency which had a ’sliding scale’ and based their fees on your income. For me at the time (about 10 years ago) the sessions were $6 per hour. There are many government sponsored agencies with similar setup. Counseling is always a possibility
• Models used for doing the work: Most guides have models that they use to help explain the work to guide you a long. Kind of like a Map. For me the Map has to make sense. If I can’t deeply understand the map and see how it applies and can be further applied then this is probably not the guide for me.
There are other guidelines, but these are some of the basics that I use when choosing a guide.
I also wanted to provide a list of counseling possibilities here in Calgary. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but a good start. If you are not near Calgary I’m sure any of these agencies could help point you to resources in your area.
• Calgary Counselling Centre – http://www.calgarycounselling.com/
• Calgary Family Services – http://www.calgaryfamilyservices.org/
• Distress Centre = http://www.distresscentre.ab.ca/ They provide assistance over the phone and counseling. The are also an excellent resource of other resources including “2-1-1″ the number designated for information and referral to all community, government, social and non-profit services in Canada.
and last but certainly not least
• MK Facilitations – http://www.mkfacilitations.com – a great resource for personal development and growth and one which I am proud to be apart of.

There are many other resources to help with any number of issues for anybody. Help and guidance are available.
If you have any questions or comments about this article please add them to the comments section at the bottom of this article or email me at:
jevon@thewarriorsvoice.com

Walk in Peace,
Warrior Jevon:In-Service

I have had the opportunity this past week to take a long journey back to look at where I’ve come from and how I got here. This can be very informative if one is open to it, but it does take a great deal of courage as you may also see parts of yourself that you are not proud of. These parts that we are not proud of are are important and at least as important as the parts that we are proud of. We use the proud moments to remind us of how far we have come, to keep us from spiraling down into despair.However the moments we are not proud of should be noted also. Either because they are no longer holding power or control over us and therefore we can be proud, or because there is still a piece to be looked at and learned from. While looking a pieces that are still incomplete I find that I have a certain amount of joy around them because I have the opportunity to become prouder as I deal with this ‘missing’ pieces.

Part of my upcoming Podcast will be about this journey and what I learned from it. I hope that you will take an opportunity to listen to it and see what it holds for you.

Walk in peace,

Warrior Jevon: In-Service

I’ve been a little quiet for a while here as I’ve been busy working on my house. My wizard has been working overtime renovating our bedroom to create a space/sanctuary that can nurture my relationship with my wife. It’s been a long haul, but it’s nearing the end.However my bedroom is not the topic of this entry, but rather the gathering happening at my place is. I’ve got to say I’m totally stoked!

I put out the universe that I wanted to spend more time amongst Men/Warriors and I’m getting my wish. This weekend I’ve got several men, whom I admire and like spending time with, coming over to hang out. We’re planning to spend some time playing cards and talking

For me this is something more than just recreation. I believe that this will lead to more revelations in my own life and journey and I hope the same for the Men who are attending. I am left in awe at the possibilities that the next couple of days hold.

I would like to thank those of you who have commented on previous entries and who have listed to my first pod cast. I’m working on the next cast as I write this and also on a larger project which I look forward to sharing with you when it is complete.

Until next time,

Walk In Peace.

Warrior Jevon: In-Service