…the ultimate opponent is the warriors own self…To actually overcome one’s own defects is the nature of victory. Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao
It is not for the first time that Deng Ming-Dao is providing our Thought for the Day. As we tend to note every hour on the hour, 365 Tao’s influence on us has been profound, and we certainly hope you enjoy its insights when we offer them.
As we frequently note here, we were all issued assorted talents at birth. These talents vary from person to person. I can write and give a pretty good speech but if you need someone to help fix your car, call someone else. You have your talents, too, and those that get on in this world are usually those that have maximized their talents. And those talents don’t have to bring us fame and fortune, either, to ensure a happy life. All we have to do is get the most out of them, because when we do that, what is meant to happen in our life generally does.
…the ultimate opponent is the warriors own self.
But while all of have our own distinct talents, we also have our own, unique set of defects, because all of us were issued those at birth, too. It is not always easy to get the most out of our talents. Every day there are a hundred different distractions. Every day we must overcome ourselves, be it a fear of success or a fear of failure or the fear of the unknown that attends the start of any great enterprise. One of our many defects is we are amongst the greatest procrastinators our species has produced.
To actually overcome one’s own defects is the nature of victory…
When our time comes to die we are going to have to review our life. We will ask ourselves if we made our time serve us, or if we merely served a sentence while on this planet. But, really, we shouldn’t wait that long. Every day we should be asking ourselves this question and we must be our most stringent examiner because oftentimes the biggest barrier between us and what we want in this life looks us in the mirror every morning.
The Thought for the Day runs regularly. Quotes are from Gaylon’s private stock.
