Tombstones

Write this down:
Nothing
(With but one exception)
Is more dangerous than action.

That one exception?
Inaction.

Fear is the enemy of action.
Fear is a paper tiger
Streaming the nerves
Boiling the stomach
Dulling the mind.

Failure to rightly understand
The proper course of action
Causes the warrior
To war against himself.

How may one know
Whether it is prudent
To engage the enemy?

It is prudent
When the cost
Of not engaging
The enemy
Exceeds the cost
Of engaging.

A warrior
Knows the state
Of his situation
At all times
Allowing no margin
For much time taken
To evaluate and decide.

Extreme conflict
Is not a possibility
But a certainty.
The only variable
Is the moment
Such an event occurs.

To discover the truth
Of my counsel
You may
Count the tombstones
Of the fallen.