Damien and The Art of War

“Therefore the skilled commander seeks victory from the situation and does not demand it of his subordinates.” —Sun Tzu, The Art of War

War is serious business. People die. In war, it's got to be preferable to have as much certainty as possible—to make decisions on facts, take no chances, etc. In other words, be in control. All the fear-based motivational mechanisms we find in everyday life must certainly be present on the battlefield, probably in heightened form. So for a general to actually rely on—not make the best of, but RELY ON—the circumstances in order to achieve victory, is pretty radical. 

Sun Tzu and I have something in common. We're both trying to achieve something. He wants to win wars, I want to build a story-culture. I'm still working off an inspiration I felt years ago, and it's pretty specific. If I am the general in Sun Tzu's statement, then my subordinates are things like my writing or my publishing. I mustn't demand victory of them. Victory is my responsibility, not theirs. In choosing them, I should be choosing the “subordinates” best suited to my objective, which is a fulfilling life—which for me means a life in which my talents, my creativity and building my dream of a story-culture are my occupation and livelihood. To me, that would be a victory.

But rely on the unknown? Yes, I think so. It takes a big psychological and emotional toll, but it's true. I must come not only to trust in, but actually to rely upon the unknown. After all, it's a huge part of life. Most of reality is totally invisible. We can perceive about 2% of what's actually there. (I made that number up.) But even if I can't perceive the whole thing, I do interact with it through my thoughts and actions. Even if I can't perceive it, it still has a huge influence on me. 

As the unknown emerges into the known, circumstances change. Details change. We can learn to regard these new details as information, clues, or communications from the unknown. But sometimes my circumstances seem to contradict my inspiration. Since I'm sure I've chosen the right path, I can't just abandon it when I don't perceive progress. I have to wait. Waiting can be really hard for me. It's even harder than failure. In waiting, one can feel truly powerless. One might think that waging a war would be the ultimate opportunity for control. Sun Tzu says just the opposite. He advises us to “become like water”. Water flows over smooth ground and rough ground alike. Water flowing among stones may stop and pool. If I wait, the pool will deepen, overflow the rocks, and continue to flow. There is a difference between power and control. Jesus had power. Hitler had control.

A more advanced form of simply trusting in the unknown is viewing the unknown as a resource, or better yet, an ally. In the novel Damien, by Herman Hesse, the main character is told “Your destiny loves you, it wants you to find it.” (I paraphrased that—I can't find the book at the moment.) So it helps to believe in the ultimate benevolence of the universe. It's consoling, yes, because there's so much pain in the world. But it's also empowering. It enables the trust which allows us to more easily plug into and participate in the great creative force. When I say empowering, I don't mean encouraging. I mean EMPOWERING, in the sense that it bestows power. Winning total victory in a large scale war is no more a manifestation of power than is creating a heartfelt, emotionally exposed painting, or raising a child, or, say, shooting fire out of my fingertips. Sun Tzu is talking about magic, directed at your project of choice.

Ever forward. 

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