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Thoughtful Thursday - Radicalization

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The enemy wants you in a reactive state. They want you to spend so much time putting out fires that you can't focus. They want you arguing within your group. The more divided you are, the more power they have.

This is an old battle tactic.

Musashi himself used it to anger his opponent. An angry opponent lashes out at the wrong things. The wrong people. Anger causes one to make mistakes. In battle, Musashi never let an opponent see his emotions. He won his first duel at the age of 13 because he was underestimated. His most famous duel, he rudely didn't show up until 4 hours late. In truth, he was nearby watching as his opponent grew increasingly angry. He brought his enemy to the edge of snapping then swiftly eliminated him.

Below is just a snippet from a larger documentary. The full thing is fascinating if you have time to watch it.

Musashi wasn't a wealthy samurai. He didn't spend a lot of time exchanging pleasantries. Many accounts make him seem like an asshole. After defeating the best of the best, he had a bit of an existential crisis and took a break from fighting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCKwwwvz2WI

Calm and calculated is what we can learn from Musashi. Strategy. There has been a lot of reaction going on. We need to be in position that is proactive to win. The things they do are designed to make us emotional. Designed to wear us down.

The people always have more power than they realize. It isn't men like him who run things. What if the water was cut off to his buildings? The electricity? A situation created where sewage backed up all over his golden palace?

There is one of him and many of you.

Only when you are calm inside can you see all the options in front of you. When your emotions run rampant, your ability to think, reason, stay healthy, etc is diminished. This helps your enemy.

Find your calm. That is where your true power is. That is what they are truly afraid of.

Ciao,
R~

Note: I don't have a source for the above image. If someone wants to let me know who made it, I'll gladly give credit.
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