This poem, which I first discovered via my Buddhist community many, many years ago, and was first penned say 6 or 700 years ago, is still so relevant and helpful to me.

Just a few of my favorites from the below poem:

I have no home:

I make awareness my home.

I have no divine power:

I make honesty my divine power:

I have no strategy:

I make “unshadowed by thought” my strategy.

I have no friends:

I make my mind my friend.

Yes, yes, yes! So helpful. So empowering. Such rare reminders in a world trying to sell us something, always:

I have no parents:

I make the heavens and the earth my parents.

I have no home:

I make awareness my home.

I have no life or death:

I make the tides of breathing my life and death.

I have no divine power:

I make honesty my divine power:

I have no means:

I make understanding my means.

I have no magic secrets:

I make character my magic secret.

I have no body:

I make endurance my body.

I have no eyes:

I make the flash of lightning my eyes.

I have no ears:

I make sensibility my ears.

I have no limbs:

I make promptness my limbs.

I have no strategy:

I make “unshadowed by thought” my strategy.

I have no designs:

I make seizing opportunity by the forelock my design.

I have no miracles:

I make right action my miracles.

I have no principles:

I make adaptability to all circumstances my principles.

I have no tactics:

I make emptiness and fullness my tactics.

I have no talents:

I make ready with my talent.

I have no friends:

I make my mind my friend.

I have no enemy:

I make carelessness my enemy.

I have no armour:

I make benevolence and righteousness my armour.

I have no castle:

I make immovable mind my castle.

I have no sword:

I make absence of self my sword.

~ Anonymous Samurai

14th Century