“Feed the Warrior by training the body to follow the mind.”  I heard Lance Armstrong say this on a TV commercial the other day.  It sounds like a quote from the Marines but it may be a Lance Armstrong original, I don’t know.  I have been thinking about it in terms of how I deal with my Type 1 diabetes.  Dealing with Type 1 diabetes requires a creation of a manual system to deliver insulin and to obtain and maintain good blood sugar levels.  The body is a manifestation of the mind.  At the same time the body and mind are forever connected and interconnected in our present state as human beings.  In my yoga training I was taught that the mind has a casual body and the body has a gross mind.  The warrior in us is an attitude.  It is an attitude that can be described with characteristics like persistence, confidence, strength and courage among others.  This is the attitude that is best adopted when confronting and dealing with an “enemy” such as diabetes.  Perhaps enemy is too strong a word for some of you.  If it is, then replace it with opponent.  But make not mistake, we are always in a state of competition.  You can choose to sit on the sidelines and not engage or you can strive to be on the starting team and play like you mean it.  That part is up to you.    So, with respect to taking on Type 1 Diabetes, we are tasked with staying alive and maintaining health by injecting insulin, taking close account of what we eat, exercising (or not), and testing blood sugar levels to obtain feedback on how well we are balancing.  It requires constant contact with the enemy/opponent.  Ok, I am going to go out on a limb here and tell you that my highest goal in this fight is to defeat the enemy.  I have chosen not to play this game in a way where I become friends or partners with my opponent.  I have decided not to relent or concede defeat to the disease.  My objective is to win.  And for me, that means I have defeated my opponent and I move on to the next competition that is placed in front of me.  I intend to “heal” diabetes.  I intend to experience a day in my life when I can say the game is over with this opponent.  I have never and will never come to a point of acceptance of its power over me.  That would be defeat.  I believe that this warrior attitude I have cultivated has been the primary reason why I am healthy after 31 years of fighting.  At times it has not felt like a fair fight.  I have gotten depressed, have lost hope, felt defeated, wanted to give up but for some reason have been blessed with strong support of others who are my “brothers and sisters in arms.”  They have helped me stay alive to fight the next day and the next.   Think about the advantages of making the warrior attitude yours.  I believe that in our current situation on earth there is really no better choice.  Always remember that the enemy or opponent is never found in another person and neither is your warrior.  Others are cast members in your movie.  Some may appear as opponents but they are only acting as a mirror for you to see the direction to take.  Both the enemy and the warrior reside in you.  Which one will you feed?