This is the third blog in a five-part blog series on Cultivating Our Inner Samurai. Click here to read Part 1 and here for Part 2.
Using the Book of Five Rings as a starting poing, we will explore what it means to go inward and cultivate your inner Samurai.
Today, we will be exploring Miyamoto Musashi first rule: Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters
Musashi's philosophy included nine rules. These nine rules are the quintessential distillation of everything that Musashi wanted to tell his readers about how to live life. Though written more then 350 years ago, his philosophy has influenced modern business people in Japan and China, as well as in Europe and North America. They are principals that apply to the outer world of business and the inner world of your still small voice. Musashi’s steps will help you get in touch with and strengthen your inner Samurai.
INNER SAMURAI DISCERNMENT
The last four points on Musashi’s list stress how to show up in the outer world, and how to conduct yourself in your day-to-day life. Conceptually, they are easily understood. However, the application requires deftness, skill, and mindful attention to achieve. Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters means to distinguish between what is beneficial and detrimental to you. This is called discernment. To discern in the outer world what is most advantageous and harmonious with your inner world takes mindful attention. The key to all this rests on two tiny words: to you.
To you. Two tiny words packed with great import and meaning. And with these two tiny words we find ourselves, once again, back where we started at rule number one. The foundational rule upon which all else rests--be honest about who you are and what you want most. Man, you just can’t get away from that rule, can you? Especially if you are a woman reading this blog.
Why woman? Because women generally worry more than men about the opinions of others. To the detriment of themselves, they overly care about what other people think. Our society has taught women to put the feelings and needs of others first. Consequently, we have been labeled selfish or called a bitch the few times we have taken a stand--Take the "How Selfish Are You?" at Blogthings, to find out.
Called putting other people first, this is an insidious way of thinking that often leaves women feeling depleted, resentful, and invisible. Especially as we grow older and the needs of our children aren’t so completely dictating our actions, the pattern may be so ingrained that we don’t even stop to discern what would be most beneficial to us.
Musashi’s fifth rule needs to be taken to heart by women because we don’t do it enough, and aren’t often supported in doing so. We are often afraid to speak our truth for fear of repercussion. We all too often choose the path of non-confrontation just to keep peace. And what’s the cost? The cost is your life! Eventually, you become nothing more than a shell. A virtual Stepford Wife who knows just what to say, just what to do, and just how to look to draw the least amount of disapproval and disappointment from others. Though the problem with this is that you aren’t being real. You aren’t being authentic. You aren’t being genuine.
Inner Samurais unite! This is a call for you to stand up and make a difference in the world. A call for you to be true to who you are. Not by ignoring the needs of others who are important to you in your life; instead, put you, first, at the center of the equation. I know, I know. This smacks against everything you’ve been taught. That’s okay. You’ll quickly get over it. Thinking independently is what an inner Samurai does. Being who you are and discerning what is most beneficial to you is what being an inner Samurai is all about. So, go forth into the outer world armed with your inner truth. Make decisions based on this truth, and know that all will be well.
So what do you think of rule number five?
How are you at being honest about who you are and what you want most?
The original Accidental Pren-her™
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