A courteous samurai, his father said, would wash his hair before battle so if his head was taken it would smell sweet for his enemy.
Different versions of a true story.
Such is the amazing power of stories to link us to our past and lead us all the way back to the present.
A smile becomes you or perhaps you become you when you smile.
A trifle can be enough when luck is on your side.
I want to do what’s right. But how can I, when I am faced with only impossible choices?
What are true things, and what are not? What is good, and what is rubbish? Everything you encounter in life, everything you read, you have to use your own noggin.
When one’s own courage is fixed in his heart, and when his resolution is devoid of doubt, then when the time comes he will of necessity be able to choose the right move. – from Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai.
My father told me that a person should always put his heart in order before falling asleep. Then he will be unencumbered by fear.