武士道 Bushidou "Way of the Samurai”
I first read Bushido back in college and was blown away by the power of the advice and general wisdom held in the book. "Bushido" simply means the "way of the bushi," or "warrior." As I was sitting at my desk this morning looking around for ideas, it struck me that it might be fun to apply principles found in the bushido to Steem.
The book that I quote from today (pictured above) is a translation of the eighteenth-century document called the Hagakure, written by Tsunetomo Yamamoto, which recorded his thoughts on samurai values and conduct. Hagakure was a collection of much of the theretofore unwritten or purposely destroyed oral traditions of the zen monks and warriors of times present and past.
I highly recommend reading Bushido, as its applications to living more successfully in "real life" (i.e. not Samurai life) are manifold, and I find it to be an invigorating and inspiring book from which to draw strength for living my life, and dying every day!
Well, let's jump into it! The way of the STEEMURAI!!!!
A samurai, fucking killing a piece of content on his Steem blog.
First, don't stop yourself too soon.
Let your mind flow and don't judge the seeds of your ideas too harshly until they have developed a bit. One doesn't prune a plant while it is still just a small green shoot in the ground. Edit and prune mercilessly after the concept has taken on some sort of shape. Some of the shapes will be garbage, but others will hold promise.
From the Bushido:
After exerting a make-shift effort, it is a mistake to look wise on the level of a definite conclusion. First try to get hold of a seed of thought firmly and see to it that the seed will ripen to bear fruit; all your life, you must never stop. Yet it is out of the question to think of any one thought or pattern of thought that you have come across as coming up to the final level. You must try to reject every way as unsatisfactory.
Stay focused, and write with intention.
Second, when you write, write with pure intention.
If your intention is to make money, that is fine. To make money here on Steemit you must speak to the voters. To speak to the voters, you must make a post they deem to be of high value. If your intention is to write for catharsis, to inform, or simply for self-exploration, do that. Whatever you do, do. Just start, and strike with full force.
From the Bushido:
When Tsunetomo let Yasuburo draw calligraphy on fancy paper, he told him, "Assume that you are going to draw only one character on the whole paper. Then put it down as if your stroke would rip the paper. The result depends upon your spiritual vigor.
Go mad.
Finally, and most importantly, go mad.
Just fucking go mad and Steem all the time.
From the Bushido:
Sane men of calmly composed mind cannot accomplish a great enterprise. You have only to get wildly crazy to the point of death. The moment discretion and consideration mingle with your Bushido, you will surely hesitate and lag behind in your enterprise.
I'll close with an excerpt I think is pertinent to the fabulous community here on Steemit:
I hope you have found this post useful, Steem warriors. Now. Charge into the din of battle with your hearts at the lotus feet of the lord, and SLAY!
~KafkA
(All images original works or public domain via Wikipedia.)
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)