“Defensive Driving” [Reflections on Ralph D. Sawyer's Translation of One Hundred Unorthodox Strategies - Battle Tactics of Chinese Warfare # 27-28]

Stay on your toes, eyes open wide,
If you would in the world abide;
For preparation is the way
To stop surprises any day.

Think what you’d do, you’re not that smart –
They may, like you, try to take part
In some bright move, “Unorthodox”,
Calm down, let situations talk –

To you about what’s up ahead,
Or you could to some trap be led;
That goes for your provisions too –
Supply lines are what’s keeping you.

A battle has two sides, not one –
It’s more a dance ’till course is run;
You have some moves and so does he,
So best you not in dreamland be.

Fine balance that – “Preps and supply”,
Then “Shift to action” on the fly;
You need them both – its emphasis,
’Till peace replaces wartime mess.

But even then, it’s just a shift
In emphasis, as then you sift
Through what’s transpired, what’s up ahead,
And how in future you’ll be fed.

Lord, as I flip all this around,
I’m hearing something more profound
Than on the surface I’d first seen
“The ‘other’ doesn’t sleep – he’s keen!

“So be on guard, there Stuie babe;
Press on, press on, your course is laid
Out to forever – satan knows
This all wraps up when evil goes.

“So bear in mind, it’s attitude,
For all of life, in certitude,
Is capable of satan’s twist
’Till I’m the center – heaven’s kiss –

“Is good example, simply seen –
A photograph, to most has been
A records shot, a memory –
Now it’s become ‘Reality’.

“Which foolish is, but look around,
Examples are quite simply found –
Folks don’t relate, it’s ‘selfie time’;
If pix is lost, you’ve crossed a line –

“For pix is now ‘reality’
Not the event – photography
Is what establishes the real;
When photo’s missed, it’s loss you feel.

“Start out with shift to ‘Sampling mode’,
Like poems written, story’s told –
Folks fill the gaps – that’s why they’re used –
They bring one half – make stories new.

“Then think back to those meeting notes
The boss disliked, the ones you wrote
For your own purposes – ‘Not good’ –
‘Objectively’ he understood.

“So too with pictures – it’s your view,
And how you give perspective new
To what is seen by other folks,
Like puns, and captured private jokes.

“Then just remember your best pix
Are in your mind, it’s there they fix
Secure from mold, and rust, and loss –
Those moments worth far more than cost.

“For life’s about relationships –
The rest is nice, but on this rests
All life together from now on,
’Till evil’s crushed, and satan’s gone.”

Thanks Lord for this.

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