Miyamoto Mushashi was a famous samurai warrior in the feudal era of Japan. He was the author of a famous work The book of five rings. He is also well known because he wrote a list of rules of life two weeks before he died.
As a good oriental warrior, for Miyamoto the fight was much more than a fight. The samurai gave enormous value to personal evolution. This was precisely the means to become good fighters. The rules of Miyamoto's life have survived time, just as the classics do. They reflect the wisdom of those who have lived with courage and in terms of noble causes. We have synthesized these precepts in ten orientations that we immediately share.
"If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness during a lifetime: help someone. "
-Chinese proverb-
1. Acceptance, the first of the rules of life 🤝
The first of the rules of life is to accept life itself, as it is. Acceptance does not mean resignation, but humility. Life is what it is and each of us depends on an attitude: that of learning from the circumstances that we have not chosen, but with which we have to live together.
The consequence of not accepting reality is permanent suffering. This gives rise to an inner battle that is always lost. Accepting, on the other hand, leads to learning from each situation.
2. Think little about yourself and much about others ⚖️
Who stops to think too much about himself ends up getting confused. Lift a wall in front of the world and feed its insecurities. More than thinking of oneself, it is proper to allow oneself to be.
True happiness is in being able to serve others. There is nothing that compares with the satisfaction of doing good. Who is generous shows to be powerful too. This is, finally, what allows him to appreciate himself.
3. Learn to let go of desire ♨️
Desire, understood as longing for what one does not have, only leads to eternal dissatisfaction. Having is like a bottomless barrel. The more you have, the more you want. And it is getting harder and harder to satisfy you.
Miyamoto, like many orientals, fought to eradicate desire. Who longs much, much is frustrated. The real power is in the ability to renounce. He who needs little, with little is happy.
4. Avoid giving place to repentance 🔄
Repentance causes much suffering. The worst thing is that it is a useless feeling. This is what Miyamoto does in the rules of life. He insists that we should not see error as a condemnation, but rather as a characteristic associated with our nature.
Every action we do teaches us something. It also changes us in some way. If he acted badly, he leaves us a great teaching. That's why nothing lived is despicable. The important thing is to learn from it, enrich our baggage.
5. Eliminate complaints and resentment 😤
The complaint only helps to invade a person of bad energy. Also to torment those around you. It does not make any sense because instead of moving into action, it ends up paralyzing.
According to the rules of Miyamoto's life, complaints and resentment poison the person who feels them. They are useless On the contrary, they begin to harm other feelings that are positive as a plague.
6. Leave the objects you do not need aside 🤧
Objects influence our emotions and our way of seeing life. If we get too attached to them, they end up exercising control over us. They make our conscience less free.
This applies especially for the things that we no longer need and that, despite this, we conserve. Finally, they make us more insecure and rigid people. That is why in the rules of life insists on getting rid of the useless.
7. Do not blindly follow the beliefs of others 👁️
He speaks, in the end, of maintaining confidence in our criteria. Trust in the common sense that one has. Respect your own convictions and your own values. Otherwise, a person becomes very manipulable.
Nobody needs to be told what is good or what is wrong. We all have the ability to decide this for ourselves. Following blindly only leads to betraying ourselves at some point.
8. Always keep your honor 💯
Honor is a word almost forgotten. It has to do with self-love. With not allowing us to fall into behaviors that are in dissonance with the values we defend, in which we believe. They would constitute a kind of compass, giving rise to pride when they are respected against temptations.
Honor is the most precious asset of any person. Someone honorable inspires respect and consideration. Attracts the goodwill and consideration of others, even enemies. This is how honor gives value to life; a value that is very intimate and personal.
9. Love should not be invaded by attachment 💓
Emotions, in general, are impulsive responses. If they reason, they become feelings. These are deeper and more weighted. They are associated with values and not with needs.
Love is an extraordinary feeling. However, sometimes we call love a blind and transient emotion. This happens when what inspires love is the appetite for something or attachment. In those cases it hurts, rather than benefit.
10. Do not fear death 🚫
It is a fact, we are mortal. Life ends and this is a natural reality. We must not fear either our own death or that of the beings we love. Thus, we overcome the fear of death living intensely life.
The rules of Miyamoto's life have survived time because of the great wisdom that they hold and also because of everything they inspire. They call realism, humility and inner peace. They seek us to focus on the essence and not on the apparent and unimportant.