The Art of War

One wakes up everyday to find pleasant and not so pleasant events greeting at the doorstep. An effective way to greet them cheerfully into one's life is to sort and guide them to two bins. The pleasant bin on one side and the unpleasant one on the opposite side. It goes without saying that the likable bin is one's oasis in the desert, while the dark one has the power to guide one's soul directly into the abyss. If you feel that you must be in a fighting mood, read the following quote from one of the innumerable sites on the internet. Since it is not possible to credit the quote correctly and accurately, reference is not cited. For the curious readers, you all know how to Google... This may not be the words of wisdom for everyone, but a French quotation that appears at the top of this blog is repeated here as a reminder:

IL DEPEND DE CELUI QUI PASSE QUE JE SOIS TOMBE OU TRESOR QUE JE PARLE OU ME TAISE CECI NE TIENT QU'A TOI AMI N'ENTRE PAS SANS DESIR Palais de Chaillot - Paris

A quote from a translation of SUN TZU ON THE ART OF WAR:

“…To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength;
to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight;
to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear.

What the ancients called a clever fighter is
one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.

Hence his victories bring him neither reputation
for wisdom nor credit for courage.

He wins his battles by making no mistakes.
Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty
of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is
already defeated.

Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into
a position which makes defeat impossible, and does
not miss the moment for defeating the enemy.

Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist
only seeks battle after the victory has been won,
whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights
and afterwards looks for victory.

The consummate leader cultivates the moral law,
and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is
in his power to control success….”

Yes! Indeed!