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Daily Reflection 3.01.21
Mar. 1st, 2021 10:21 amChapter 6 of The Art of War begins as follows.
Readers familiar with the American Civil War may remember another version of this dictum, from Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. When asked how he won so many battles, General Forrest simply replied,
Let's consider how this dictum can be applied to the Great Work-- the conquest of our own souls-- and all of its subdivisions, including our daily goals and tasks, the conquest of our habits, thoughts and emotions, and the work of spiritual warfare.
What does it mean to arrive first with the most?
Let me give an example or two from my daily life.
I know that I do my best work in the mornings. But I also know that things become very difficult for me without a cup of coffee to start my day. But if I have too much coffee and no food, it affects my mood very badly. I start getting irritated, and then mentally scattered. If I let things keep going, I'll soon fall into a kind of pit of craving and emotion. I could have a list of tasks 3 pages long for the day, but if you come back at noon you'll find me with 20 browser tabs open to mostly political news of the sort that irritates me but feeds my dopamine craving, and at that point I'll be so incoherent and low-energy from lack of food I'll barely be able to explain to you what I'm doing or why.
In order to combat this, I prepare the battlefield beforehand. In the evening I set the coffee so that all I have to do is push a button when I go downstairs. I also pay more for coffee that I genuinely like, rather than buying Maxwell House or something similar. This all helps me to feel excited to get out of bed, because I know something is waiting for me other than the misery of being awake at 5am.
The other thing that I do at night is to set out bread to rise. By the way, If you don't know how to bake bread, I strongly suggest you learn. It's not just that it's extremely easy, though it is. It's also much, much cheaper to bake bread yourself than to buy it in the store, and I promise it also tastes much better. I buy the higher end King Arthur flour rather than store brand all purpose flour, and it still only costs me about a dollar for a tasty loaf of bread that's also free of chemical additives and allergens like soy and dairy. The point, though, is that it's already prepared beforehand. The result is that I simply have to stick the thing in the oven and wait 40 minutes, and I'll have sufficient food to keep me going for the rest of the day.
This example may seem a bit mundane. And it is exactly that, in the sense that "mundane" refers to the mundus or material world. Another way to say that is "Malkuth," the 10th sphere of the Tree of Life:
<img src='https://readoldthings.dreamwidth.org/file/370.jpg' alt='' title='Tree of Life' />
The Tree of Life begins in the absolute unity of Kether, the First Sphere, and descends all the way down into material manifestation at Malkuth, the Tenth Sphere. As above, so below; our souls descend from the highest heaven into the material world, and it's from the material world that we must begin our return journey. By properly caring for the physical body, we make it easier to control our emotions and thoughts, which in turn allows us to maintain our contact with higher realities and divinity.
Getting there first with the most can apply to all of our goals. In job-hunting, it looks like getting the application in on time with the best resume. In dating, it looks like being the first available with the most to offer. In actual fighting, it looks like throwing the first punch-- or, really, like landing the first punch, as many great fighters are great counter-punchers. In mental health and addiction recovery it looks like anticipating triggers and having coping strategies and support networks in place.
And of course, all of this presupposes that we have a set goal in mind, and some knowledge of the steps required to get there and the obstacles we might encounter on the way. This is true whether we're talking about the Great Work of spiritual development; intermediate life goals like getting a job or a house; or just making it through the day.
Sun Tzu said: Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle, will arrive exhausted.
Readers familiar with the American Civil War may remember another version of this dictum, from Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. When asked how he won so many battles, General Forrest simply replied,
I get there first with the most.
Let's consider how this dictum can be applied to the Great Work-- the conquest of our own souls-- and all of its subdivisions, including our daily goals and tasks, the conquest of our habits, thoughts and emotions, and the work of spiritual warfare.
What does it mean to arrive first with the most?
Let me give an example or two from my daily life.
I know that I do my best work in the mornings. But I also know that things become very difficult for me without a cup of coffee to start my day. But if I have too much coffee and no food, it affects my mood very badly. I start getting irritated, and then mentally scattered. If I let things keep going, I'll soon fall into a kind of pit of craving and emotion. I could have a list of tasks 3 pages long for the day, but if you come back at noon you'll find me with 20 browser tabs open to mostly political news of the sort that irritates me but feeds my dopamine craving, and at that point I'll be so incoherent and low-energy from lack of food I'll barely be able to explain to you what I'm doing or why.
In order to combat this, I prepare the battlefield beforehand. In the evening I set the coffee so that all I have to do is push a button when I go downstairs. I also pay more for coffee that I genuinely like, rather than buying Maxwell House or something similar. This all helps me to feel excited to get out of bed, because I know something is waiting for me other than the misery of being awake at 5am.
The other thing that I do at night is to set out bread to rise. By the way, If you don't know how to bake bread, I strongly suggest you learn. It's not just that it's extremely easy, though it is. It's also much, much cheaper to bake bread yourself than to buy it in the store, and I promise it also tastes much better. I buy the higher end King Arthur flour rather than store brand all purpose flour, and it still only costs me about a dollar for a tasty loaf of bread that's also free of chemical additives and allergens like soy and dairy. The point, though, is that it's already prepared beforehand. The result is that I simply have to stick the thing in the oven and wait 40 minutes, and I'll have sufficient food to keep me going for the rest of the day.
This example may seem a bit mundane. And it is exactly that, in the sense that "mundane" refers to the mundus or material world. Another way to say that is "Malkuth," the 10th sphere of the Tree of Life:
<img src='https://readoldthings.dreamwidth.org/file/370.jpg' alt='' title='Tree of Life' />
The Tree of Life begins in the absolute unity of Kether, the First Sphere, and descends all the way down into material manifestation at Malkuth, the Tenth Sphere. As above, so below; our souls descend from the highest heaven into the material world, and it's from the material world that we must begin our return journey. By properly caring for the physical body, we make it easier to control our emotions and thoughts, which in turn allows us to maintain our contact with higher realities and divinity.
Getting there first with the most can apply to all of our goals. In job-hunting, it looks like getting the application in on time with the best resume. In dating, it looks like being the first available with the most to offer. In actual fighting, it looks like throwing the first punch-- or, really, like landing the first punch, as many great fighters are great counter-punchers. In mental health and addiction recovery it looks like anticipating triggers and having coping strategies and support networks in place.
And of course, all of this presupposes that we have a set goal in mind, and some knowledge of the steps required to get there and the obstacles we might encounter on the way. This is true whether we're talking about the Great Work of spiritual development; intermediate life goals like getting a job or a house; or just making it through the day.
