Dear Mme Gubaidulina

"I am a religious person...and by 'religion' I mean re-ligio, the re-tying of a bond...restoring the legato of life. Life divides man into many pieces...There is no weightier occupation than the recomposition of spiritual integrity through the composition of music."

Sofia Gubaidulina

Realpolitik (part II)

How do you know when to stand and when to evade?

Someone once told me: “in matters of tactics you negotiate, in matters of Principle-NEVER!”…

Nothing implies better the spirit of Political Realism.

King Leonidas was facing a matter of Principle: he wanted to make sure that the Persians would get so frustrated so that even if some Greeks (and yes, old Leonidas knew which were the ones) wanted to negotiate, the Persians wouldn’t!

Ironic as it may seem, Leonidas decision is NOT a romantic, chivalric flavored gesture by a Byronian character (as classroom taught History wants us to think) or Hollywood like blockbuster story!

Thermopylae is the ultimate Political Realism act. It is cold calculated, pragmatic and true. It is true to the Spartan Spirit, and Sparta was not a place for philology, believe me! Contrary to popular belief Spartans valued Life more than anyone else, that is why the gave it away only after dead-serious consideration.

This is exactly why that Spirit is significant. In reality there is not a bipolar axis
Heroism←→Pragmatism , this is our perception from the Western Civilization point of view. It is exactly the same case with samurai seppuku (“hara-kiri”): we will never grasp it. What we interpret with our emotions, was done by cold calculation.

There is one point and only one: Imagine their Training!

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As a matter of fact, returning in this post’s initial question, the answer is: “how do you stand and evade at the same time?”

N.

What was the most beautiful thing you left behind?

Adonis, in response to a question from the Shades in the Underworld ("What was the most beautiful thing you left behind?"), answers:

κάλλιστον μὲν ἐγὼ λείπω φάος ἠελίοιο,

δεύτερον ἄστρα φαεινὰ σεληναίης τε πρόσωπον


(Finest of all the things I have left is the light of the sun,

Next to that the brilliant stars and the face of the moon)


Praxilla of Sicyon, 5th century BC

Pictures of Athens

Physical Injury during Practice periods

How Discipline makes us truly Free

Sometimes you know that you have to practice but you don't want to. It seems there is a second self somewhere inside that is stronger, more powerful than our will, that dictates what is going to happen. No matter what your plans are, you-won't-do-it. Period.

Whenever I think about this, I have an image about that other self: it is as powerful as a lion, stubborn like an ox, ferocious like a shark. And you my friend, are not going to practice no matter what!

Discipline is a liquid. It runs in all of our Life's aspects. You can't be disciplined in one thing and
chaotic in another.

It is part of character and character is built up. By applying it in everything.
Discipline in how you eat. How you sleep. How you do your homework, take the bus, work.

It is from these aspects that you may take any amount of "discipline" to apply it where and when is needed. Yourway of life will support you. You will practice by counting on your own daily routined discipline. You will find the power to tame the lion, the ox, the shark!

I am not suggesting a life full of militarian discipline. Even if you wanted, society (this applies for all countries on planet Earth except for Japan!) is not helping you. There is no black and white, only shades of gray. The chaos that rules other peoples' lifes affects us: the garbage truck that 
picks up the trash at noon(!), the guy who double-parked for 5 mins (actually it's 40 mins by now), another strike that causes downtown nuclear meltdown, your friend that came 
30 mins late...

All I am saying is that You must decide about your Life. You should choose when to have coffee, when to practice, when to go to the movies. It must be your choice, your decision. Thus you are free. Free to do as you decide.


Injury. Pain as means to an end-another kind of aikido.

All these are meaningless the moment you get hurt. Pain knocks the door of your brain saying: "I am shuting systems down!"...

It gets even trickier... You think it is for the best to rest. To lie on the sofa and watch TV... You are hurt, aren't you? You deserve this...

No. As long as you can walk, you must go to Practice. And do as much as pain allows you to do. Is it only one simple exercise? You do it.

Pain is our friend. Pain is a signal telling us that something is wrong. We must learn to embrace it. Not demonize it! Pain is the best thing our body can do to tell us in order to protect ourselves.

Absorb it and exhale it.

Realpolitik (part I)

Stranger, go tell the Spartans that here we lie, obeying their Law


When I was about 12 years old, I read about King Leonidas, the 300 and Thermopylae.
I was amazed by that act of Self-Sacrifice.

To make a stand, against your interests but for your Ideas.

To obey the Law to Death, that is the extreme limit of Man, Citizen, Warrior.
This seems to me the ultimate contribution of Ancient Greece to World's Civilization,
the defining moment of Law, the State of Justice, Principle over Self.


Ever since, there is one picture that haunts me: the Persian spy returns to the Great King and informs him that the Spartans are there, getting ready to die, by preparing themselves, putting on their finest clothes, calmly brushing their long hair, waiting.

What a scene! Brushing each other’s long hair, calmly waiting to die…

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Then came Philip.

To keep myself sane during the last year of high school and the intense studying for the University-entering exams, I studied about Philip, King of Macedonia, father of Alexander the Great.

And there it was: "Philip was a genious. He knew when to fight but most importantly, when to retreat, avoiding conflicts that he could not win..."

What? Whaaat? Avoid battle, retreat? "Keeping it low?"

What about fighting? Heroism, Sacrifice?

This way, a hot summer evening, Realistic Politics stormed into my Life!