Killer Instinct

Once the big picture relating to international affairs and the “great game” are understood from a theoretical perspective, what follows is the issue of readiness as it pertains to the application of theoretical knowledge within the game. And readiness is ultimately the result of knowing oneself. As Sun Tzu said: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

In turn, readiness is something that is intuitively and instinctively known. This blog helped me put the knowledge and information I had in my head into perspective. And a major part of readiness is putting the theories and knowledge in one’s head into perspective before delving into the application part. But through the course of developing this blog, I knew I was not ready, because the process of putting everything into perspective was not complete.

As long as there is a need and an impulse to blog, the process of putting things into perspective is a work in progress. And as long as a person is putting the theories and knowledge in their head into perspective, the person is not ready yet for entry into the “great game.” There is a line in a rather obscure Indian film that sums this situation up. In the movie, an older man asks the main character who is in his twenties whether he believes in God. His response was “almost.”

I am now thirty-three years of age. I turned thirty-three on the first of this month. I was once told by a lady with lots of experience in politics that I would be ready at the age of thirty-five. My former boss, the Afghan ambassador, stared me down once and told me I would be ready at the age of forty. During the chaos and heat of this past summer, I knew I was not ready. And one of the key indicators of my lack of readiness was that my blog and my thoughts were still developing in my head. One of the key indicators of my readiness will be when this blog attracts that one person who is bound to show up and in turn facilitate my entry into the “great game.”

But until that person comes, this blog will be a work in progress, and as long as this blog is a work in progress, it means that readiness is not yet achieved and that the timing is not right. Moreover, rushing to be ready is a stupid move. You cannot bake a cake in the span of a minute. Obviously, things take time. Also, the situation has to be conducive to one’s participation in the game at a broader level. Right now, the conditions are not right. And until the conditions are right, there is no need to prove anything to anyone. Preparation, getting ready, and waiting for the right time also require energy and focus. Therefore, I do not have the energy or the time to focus on a particular person’s petty games.

Thus, once the conditions are conducive to one’s entry, all the moving parts will somehow synchronize and come together, and as a result the timing will also be right. Also, readiness and timing go hand-in-hand. In turn, readiness and timing are everything when it comes to entry into the “great game.” And when readiness is assured and when the timing is right, one will know instinctively and intuitively.