Samson fell because of lust. So did Solomon. The strongest man and the wisest man in Scripture both fell to the same mistake. Most of the time, the most dangerous enemies take the form of things we believe don’t need to be fought; they disguise themselves as pleasure.

This is a very important moment for a boy: he was afraid, nervous, thinking he wasn’t capable of breaking the board with his kick, and so he started to cry. Maybe his mother wanted to run over, pick him up, comfort him, and take him away from the pressure. But this was a space for men, and men identify a weakness and do everything they can to help overcome it. Men encouraging men. Shouting their names in the middle of the challenge. Notice how the boy falls, and his friend grabs him by the collar of his gi and lifts him back up, keeping him in front of the challenge, while the instructor keeps giving commands on how to do it. The symbolism here is incredible. The highest expression of masculine care is encouraging someone to swallow their tears, because there’s work to be done, and it’s not the time to stop.

GM NOSTR 🥃

“The problem is never the problem itself, but how we respond to it—turning it into a solution.” When someone is rude to you, respond with kindness. When someone approaches you with illogical or unreasonable arguments, raise the level of the conversation. But how do you do that? First, recognize the miscommunication by assessing its vibrational frequency. Then, calmly inform the person that this is not the best way to communicate with you. If the behavior continues after the notification, distance yourself from the person and/or remove yourself from the environment. If this pattern of behavior persists, the best course of action is to cut ties or limit that person’s presence in your network—or, if it’s a professional context, restrict their involvement accordingly. This is one of the key protocols in Conflict and Crisis Management within Networking. “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” – Sun Tzu

gm nostr 🥃