And so it would appear that there is an art of living. An art to dancing to the rhythm of life.
For Michael Franks there’s meaning in the Art of Tea.
And some I know profess to the Art of Coffeeing
Others yet to the Art of Love
But today I want to rant about the Art of War…! Macciavelli? Sun Tzu.? Well, I never felt the urge nor the need to invest in either The Prince or The Art of War. These most celebrated books of strategy...
Alas, “dit moi,” I thought, “is there really need to study the details of making your enemy’s enemy your best friend?” Better not to have enemies at all, I thought. Better still to subscribe to the notion of Christ Jesus to love your enemies. So if you love your enemy, you also love your enemy’s enemy. So we are equals. And isn’t that what Macciavelli and Sun Tzu are saying? Confused? Well, it makes two of us.
Aha, but the same Christ Jesus preaches on the necessity of loving oneself first and foremost – love your neighbor as yourself – and that in of itself being the enabler to allow you to respond to others in understanding. And it was this notion – loving and knowing thyself first, studying people, studying life - that led me to purchase The Art of War for Executives.
The day I realized that I needed to invest in that book was the day that I matured…
Appreciating the politics at play in your sphere of influence @work and @ play
For the art of loving oneself requires a level of understanding and an appreciation of the world around you. Yes, with all the gamesmanship, one-upmanship and all.
One of my mentors reminds me day in day out of the need to seek to understand the politics in the world around me even if I don’t want to play it – for therein I gain insight to the motives which give rise to the utterances and actions which come forth day in and day out.
For we war at play even as we war at work. We war in the boardroom and we war in the bedroom. Indeed there are ecclesiastical battles and wars in the heavenly realms. Hmmm. I am grateful for the promise we have in Him, Christ Jesus, that we have the victory over those battles.
But Sun Tzu’s lesson to me is this: In any situation, seek to respond and not react. Same difference? Never!
Respond to and act on the motive which led to the action. And that might mean a positive or a negative response, but usually it is a positive response. Why so? Because in responding one has paused to be aware of and identify with the motive behind the negative or positive action. It’s the art of calculating victory. Hmm, oh yes - the art of calculating victory.
Never react to the action or utterance – respond to it. And that takes work. Rise to the challenge!
Take this from Chapter 3:
So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a thousand battles without a single loss.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself
Whetted your appetite? Go get the books.
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1 comment:
I had a similar realization lately.
life = competition
I know that seems like a kind of negative view of life, but based on the fact that we humans are essentially animals--"social" animals (like dogs). So, whether you want to "play the game" or not, you are playing by default. Thus, it helps to understand a bit about competition. And if we do then we can usually use strategy and positioning to achieve Sun Tzu's highest criteria, to "win without fighting."
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