The defence

I don't quite know what this blog is about taking off from the title. I've a lot of things on my mind on this topic and having not blogged for long, I don't know how this one's gonna read. I tweeted an hour back so: Watching Never Back Down and kinda love it. Am not a fan of violence, but a huge fan of defence. I can't even point out what in the movie triggers this blog, there's so much of a tangential disconnect! The tagline of the movie went Everyone has their fight. Now thats true, be it with the actual, real life, physical, fight or what the fight stands for. It may be chess, your beliefs or your life. A lot many people have called me defensive, even in matters that didn't need defence; thats who I am. There are only two ways to deal with an attack: to fight back in defence or just pass. Passing is not giving up, its not losing. Its a gentleman's way out. Some beliefs are so strong that you can't pass. Then you ought to fight till the death or till you think you have reached a stage to pass it; that is, if you're not in the wrong.

I don't follow the adage attack is the best form of defence. In chess, I've lost most games in attack because when I go all out, I lose the home ground defence. Thats one place where my multitasking skills have failed me. In life, I have my own set of beliefs. I defend them, regardless of who attacks them. I've gone against the most respected on these grounds. I've tried passing there, but its not always possible and nor is it always a good thing. A few months back, I was chatting with an old friend whom I caught up with after many years. He was surprised to know what I do or don't do now. Then I went a bit on a defensive, being me. He was very understanding, but he asked me why I was defending. I said because I felt too strongly about the path. To this, he had a mature thing to say: the path doesn't need a defence. He was right, but then not all understand that.

At times where I knew its a muck to get in, I don't defend. I pass. These times are tough for people in the game; they think of you as a team. I don't. I go solo. I don't like to depend on others for my defence. If I don't understand the subject to fight alone, then its not worth the defence. Any help is welcome and I would use it, not being thankless, but I wouldn't base my entire premise on expected team support. As for when I pass even when I feel strongly for the issue, its surely something where I'd be breaking my head on a wall otherwise; its quicksand. Here I remember a quote I read somewhere: never wrestle with a pig, you both get dirty and the pig likes it. Such debates are a strict no to me. A couple of years back, I backed out of a debate on a topic close to my heart, after which someone called me a coward. I applied the pig rule there and kept mum. Those are the times when I learn that patience is a virtue.

This brings me back full circle to the movie. As much as in physical encounters we forget to breathe and lose, in verbal confrontations too, we forget to breathe and lose. In the latter, the breath stands for thinking. The flow of prANa in breathing causes thoughts to be at the forefront. They help you build patience, grow wise by the breath. Breathing is very essential in the worldly as much as in the spiritual, both cases, slower the better. In the worldly we ought to focus on the thoughts that ride the breath, while in the spiritual we are to focus between breaths, the thoughtless state. In the end, we all have our focuses, we all have our fights. Some fight to make ends meet for the daily bread, others do it to make it to the top of the success ladder. Some defend their lives, others go out for an all out war to win the world. Some fight the outward projection calling it a battle of life & death, while some few defend within of whats left of their spiritual goal.


PS: I may have come off as a wuss here, but I'll pass the debate. :)

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