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Spider Strategy

Most animals attack along a straight line; the spider weaves a web, adapted to its location and spun in a pattern, whether simple or complex. Once the web is woven, the work is done. The spider has no need to hunt; it simply waits for the next fool to fall into the web’s barely visible strands!

Couple this with Patton’s philosophy of command:

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity!”

 

Contrast this with The Ocean’s Tide:

It ebbs and flows so powerfully that no one in its path can escape its pull or move against it. Like the moon, you are the force that sets the tide, which carries everything along in its wake!

What about the Bull?

It is large, its stare is intimidating, and its horns can pierce your flesh. Attacking it and trying to escape it are equally fatal. Instead stand your ground and let the bull charge your cape, giving it nothing to hit, making its horns useless. Get it angry and irritated – the harder and more furiously it charges, the faster it wears itself down. A point will come when you can turn the game around and go to work, carving up the once fearsome beast!

Spider strategy wins, mostly when the fight is hard to lose and tough to continue but time is the key!

Inspiration

Should inspiration be derived or extracted? Can there be unending sources of inspiration? This quest leads to looking around nature! In acts of survival, live for the sake of living, we can’t ignore the influence of components of nature : The FIVE forces – Sky, Earth, Water, Wind and Fire! It is interesting to see a warrior’s perspective on deriving inspiration from these five forces. An interesting compilation from various verses on strategy:

The Sky denotes the Ruler! Don’t mess with it. Derive the inspiration of fighting the enemy by considering the vastness and the spread the sky has to offer. Be strong, wide, and clear from the ground – without too much being distracted or detracted.

IMG_0643The Earth. The enemy is the ground beneath your feet. It has a gravity that holds you in place, a force of resistance. Root yourself deep in this earth to gain firmness and strength. Without an enemy to walk upon, to trample, you lose your bearings and all sense of proportion. 

Water. Adapting its shape to whatever it moves in the stream, pushing rocks out of its way, smoothing boulders, it never stops, is never the same. The faster it moves, the clearer it gets!

The Wind. The rush of unexpected events, and the doubts and criticisms of those around you, are like fierce wind at sea. It can come from any point of the compass, and there is no place to go to escape from it, no way to predict when and in what direction it will strike. To change direction with each gust of wind will only throw you out to sea. Good pilots do not waste time worrying about what they cannot control. They concentrate on themselves, the skill and steadiness of their hand, the course they have plotted, and their determination to reach port, come what may!

Fire. By itself it has no force; it depends on its environment. Give it air, dry timber, a wind to fan the flames, and it gains a terrifying momentum, growing hotter, feeding off itself, consuming everything in its path. Never leave such power to chance!

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Caring & Interfering

Caring is to take care! Care is an activity involved in maintaining something in good working order! It is also associated with Safety, Feeling, Concern, Anxiety… all focused on preventing and/or treating!! Care denotes being in charge of!, too!

Interfering is to interfere! Getting involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force!

Caring requires intervention, but not Interference!

It happens mostly with some of us – possessive (caring?) parents, teachers, mentors and fatherly or motherly figures! We might extend our caring attitude a little too much which turns out to be interference for the recipient. Why is this so?

Caring is a time bound activity – not a lifelong need! Take for example health care! Doctors and hospitals ensure that the care is given till someone recovers, educates them to manage the condition and leave it to the recipient to run on their own – in a systemic and repeatable fashion. I think the schools do the same. There is always – teach, examine, feedback and move forward or backward – but not stay on the same course for ever! But when we miss this “time” factor, we ensure turning caring into interfering!

In parent – child relationships, we seem to forget this time factor and ensure this mess, again and again. Most kids growing up appreciating their parents for all the help, guidance and care – that comes without asking, will soon start hating, avoiding and moving away in their adolescence or teen age! If we miss this signal and continue our unsolicited caring, kids find their own path mostly in the anti-route!

Care without any expectation or ideology seems to remain healthy and appreciated! – life long!! The moment we start influencing our ideology, expectation or own unfulfilled/ desired dreams on our children or similar relationships with loved ones, our caring behavior seems to turn towards interfering!!!

One nugget found on the path is to adopt a key strategy of – Lead, Follow and Get-out-of-the-way!

Leading kids to whatever we feel is the right direction/path, following their adoption/results to help modify the path while we learn from their experiences and getting out of their way when time is ripe for them to create and lead their own paths, definitely reinforces faith in care – a timely, time bound, action to help people have their lives!

I think this is true with all human relationships which are not bound by monetary transactions! So, if we care for someone, I think it is important not to influence own ideology but adopt – Lead, Follow and Get-Out-of-the-Way action plan!

 

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