The great military advisor Sun Tzu teaches that it is with wisdom that we win battles. In his 2500 year old text, “The Art of War”, he states, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
Believe it, or not, we fight internal battles every day, and wisdom can help us to achieve our own victory. Yet, many of us do not know what our enemy looks like. I was teaching my son this lesson the other day, and he asked me, “What does your enemy look like?”. I told him that my enemy was anyone holding a gun to my head.
Sounds harsh. But it isn’t. You see, many of us do not realize that human nature exists all around us. The cashier that was rude to us when we were checking out at the store is not our enemy. That person is simply losing an internal battle that we can typically only worsen. Other than offering a smile and kind salutations, we are at a loss.
The unfortunate side-effect of not knowing our enemy, is that we too lose many a battle by failing to confront wisdom. Wisdom is the hard-gained attribute that we achieve by discovering our own individual nature, contending with it, and finding inner peace. Then, and only then, can we sort out a way to push out the enemy within. Later to find that the enemy only exists in your mind.
Soul-crushing defeat is what exists outside the borders of this conundrum. So you’d best get to work on figuring our your bullshit, and sorting out the effects of human nature on the modern mind.
It is so easy to get caught up in a situation where you have not discovered your own individual nature, and you lack the ability to sort out who is and is not your enemy. To fall back on the advice of Sun Tzu, you are setting yourself up for an ideological battle, where you will fail every time; as have so many who have come before you.
So, a good question would be, “Where does one begin in the journey to understanding our true selves and finding the wisdom to act in a proper manner?”. The answer lies in the ability to forgive yourself of your past transgressions and move forward in a proper direction; one that eventually lends the ability to consult wisdom, in any circumstance.
Things change. We must allow growth to occur. This is imperative.
The Greek statesman and General, Pericles, gave this advice to his men before engaging in battle with the Peloponnesians—”I know the passion that leads people into war does not last when they’re actually engaged in it; people change their minds with circumstances. But I see I must still give nearly the same advice as I gave before; and I insist that if you agree to this as common policy you support it even if things go badly for us—otherwise you’ve no right to boast of your intelligence if all goes well, since events can turn out as stupidly as people’s intentions, and that is why we usually blame chance when things don’t turn out as expected.”
Intent means something. Yet, wisdom will dictate that we must be ever willing to change our plans (or what our intended outcome was) as the circumstances around us change. This flexibility is gained by the individual who knows that this is a possibility at the onset of the battle; and hence, has other plans.
There is an idea in economics called “The law of unintended consequences”, which, simply defined is the misunderstood effects that occur when a complex system is governed with simple system. Our lives are quite complex, especially to us! And it will not be by a simple system that we achieve the ability to know ourselves. So, my advice is this—stop wallowing in the mistakes of the past, and start getting to know yourself.
