Internal Strength
It's all about internal strength, honor and true
humility, not if you win or lose, live or die etc. It's how you
live your life, i.e, not worrying about it, and not considering
so much about right and wrong on the outside, or what
someone else is doing that may be right or wrong.
Strengthen the inner; refuse to do battle with the opponents
within and without, so to speak. Refuse to confront the
oncoming thrust of the sword—better to step aside and
watch it miss its mark. Or better yet, take no thought on it.
Hold no malice or anger for anything. Keep working on
that inner light or the superior self, because that serves the
better good. Work towards peace and harmony within and it
will be reflected without. Sometimes you can win a battle,
but that doesn't mean you win the war. Peace and harmony
within brings good fortune for all concerned. It's about
motive; we bring sorrow on ourselves and others by not
being true to our higher self or good. It's like practicing the
martial arts for glory and ego or practicing it to strengthen
mind, body, and spirit, and to build character and humility.
It's not about winning, even though you know you can. No
matter what might face us, whether it be loneliness,
relationships, or any kind of hardship, if we have that
internal strength and walk with the sage, everything will be
OK. As within so without. These words are easier to say
than put into practice. And I guess that should be our goal;
maybe we can't be perfect but we can work towards an
ideal. Sometimes it does take a change in attitude or events
that causes a turning point in our lives.