I was looking for a particular quote recently, and to find it, I’ve been rereading Hagakure.  Which, if you’ve read it and are like me, is never quick going.  Other books I can just thumb through until I find the quote I’m looking for, and it generally doesn’t take a particularly long time.  But Hagakure is different.  Whatever random page you open to, there is almost always something that engages you right then in that very moment and you forget all about the quote you were looking for and start reading.  So of course, that’s what happened.  After the flip of maybe two pages, this jumped out at me, and it was exactly what I needed to hear at that moment.  I’ll find the quote I was looking for in the next day or two, but in the meantime, check this out:

“Even if it seems certain you will lose, retaliate.  Neither wisdom nor technique has a place in this.  A real man does not think of victory or defeat.  He plunges recklessly toward an irrational death.  By doing this, you will awaken from your dreams.”  ~ Yamamoto  Tsunetomo

Goddamn right, dear reader.  That’s beautiful.  There’s been a lot of reckless plunging lately, and it’s kind of just the way I do things sometimes, but it can be stressful.  Hagakure is, as always, comforting.

N.P.: “Tie Your Mother Down” – Lemmy & Ted Nugent