Inspiring reads

I recently finished Way of the Peaceful Warrior again. And I'm glad I found it in the bookshelf when I did, as it helped remind me to breath, experience life, _have_ emotions then let them go, during a time when the four areas of my life all demanded attention.

More fighting related titles that also have a good life philosophy is Book of Five Rings (Musashi) which I was lucky to get as a double with Book of Family Traditions (I think that's its title) (Munenori). The best part of that is the section on having a "normal mind". Particularly that "it is normal to blink when something is thrust at your eyes. If an opponent does not blink when you do this, then they are in a state of agitation and not a normal/free state of mind. You will win." To understand the normal mind, think of archery, when you shoot an arrow you are not thinking about the mechanics of shooting the arrow, rather just the feel of the drawn bow, the awareness of the sight picture and the vision of the desired outcome. If you think about the mechanics you're mind will be constricted, you will over-compensate, and you will miss.
To quote The Last Samurai "Too much mind. No Mind!" This applies to so much beyond marshal skills.

From The Last Samurai DVD extra features, the summation of the Bushido is worth reading and thinking on ... and through.

Other good reads;
The Longships (a blend of norse sagas written as one continuous fiction)
The White Company (Arthur Conan Doyle) Getting past the "What ho, archer" style of writing isn't as hard as it seems.
Red Branch, the story of the Irish legend, Cuchalain, the hound of ulster.

Love it when a plan comes together

The May Crown List Treb is almost done and is looking cool. As usual it's coming down to the wire but I'll get it done in the evenings this week. I'm really chuffed that the jointing concepts have all panned out and I've had enough cunning plans to smooth out the design issues on the list tree attachment.
Now I just need to fit a brake of some sort to stop the list shields accelerating out of control. Hrmm, maybe better to give it a closer to neutral balance...
Since I seem to have an audience, photo's to come shortly. Maybe after crown though.