LOVE IS A WAR

We are all in a battle, amidst the time and space, although it is not the battle we commonly think of.

Sun Tzu is a great strategist, tactician philosopher and military general. He wrote one of the greatest book in history - THE ART OF WAR. It is a compilation of many strategies devoted in the field of warfare. Little did people know, this book also applies on the complex world of Love.

風林火山 or Furinkazan literally means Wind, Forest, Fire and Mountain. It is the popular version of the battle standard used by the Sengoku period leader Shingen Takeda. The banner he used during his time quotes the four phrases from Sun Tzu's Art of War.

A passage of the books states the following:

"Be as swift as the wind,
 Be as silent as the forest,
 Be as fierce as fire and
 Be as unshakable as the mountain."

Literally speaking, it sounds as if it is about warfare -  a war towards death but as we repeat it, we can think of other instances where this can be applied. The tone also changes as we think that they are scenarios which exhibits the words of the passages.

BE AS SWIFT AS THE WIND - in Love, sometimes, we need to hurry. We need to show affection. Other may come first and you'll be left and instantly lose that game. Sometimes, to fight for Love, it requires the eradication of our shame and patience and suggests we increase our courage in a more frank manner.

BE SILENT AS THE FOREST - this may suggest that we should move quietly or maybe also, we should become patient. Patiently move towards Love. It may look like it negates the Wind adage at the first line but truthfully, it just compliments it. We can say that the two comes with each other. There are times that we need to be frank and times when we need to stay put for awhile.

BE AS FIERCE AS THE FIRE - Fire beats fire more than water. This time around, courage requires more exposure. Disregarding shame and saying directly what you feel may be the start of putting up courage.

BE AS UNSHAKABLE AS THE MOUNTAIN - Any form of hindrance shall bow down on you. You bombard every single one which comes your way trying to put you down, discouraging you from reaching your goal. You put on your mindset that nothing beats you because you are already invincible.

To prove that this passage summarizing the art of warfare is also quoting Love, let me give you some quotes from other literature which tells that Love is also a War.

"I've fought so many wars in my time. Some I've fought for land, some for power, some for glory. I suppose fighting for love makes more sense than all the rest." ~ King Priam (Troy, 2004)

and...

"Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up." ~ James A. Baldwin

We are all part of an unseen battle called Love.