[Stones and Stories] Only What Is Shaped with Heart Can Stand Strong

The saying that mindset determines the outcome is just as true in the game of Go. If you underestimate your opponent and approach the match carelessly, your net will be full of holes. You will not catch even a small fish, let alone a big one. Instead, you will struggle against your opponent’s counterattacks, and the tide will gradually turn against you. The belief that you can always turn things around prevents you from regaining your focus.

When building territory along the edge, a two-space extension is appropriate, but if you recklessly extend by four spaces, your house does not become bigger, just weaker. The same applies when building in the corner. Placing stones broadly toward the center only invites your opponent into your own territory. Even when shaping a small bowl, you must put in your utmost care; if your mind is adrift as you play, how can your positions be solid? Your perspective narrows, and your judgment of the situation becomes flawed.

Even worse is baseless optimism. You seal away the anxiety that you might be at a disadvantage and confine yourself in a jar of hopeful diagnoses. Outside, the environment is harsh with wind and rain, but inside the jar, you are lost in fantasies of peace and prosperity. Whether you realize it or not, the gap between reality and hope is holding you back, yet you remain intoxicated, unable to escape your dreamlike state.

Everything has its time, but if you waste the time given to you, the opportunity will pass to your opponent. Even with nothing but bamboo sticks as building materials, your opponent constructs a house that is solid and seamless from the foundation up. What once seemed like a handful of fragile bamboo soon becomes a sturdy framework, each piece supporting the others. The space is defended so tightly that it is nearly impossible to invade.

The quality of your materials does not guarantee the outcome. Even if you start from a favorable position, if you allow complacency to build up, the foundation of your game will inevitably become unstable. While you are desperately defending against your opponent’s attacks, the match is already over. Only when you lower your head and gather your stones do you realize the harshness of reality. Regret that comes too late cannot change the result.

Politicians, too, must approach their work with sincerity if they wish to win the hearts of the people. Only by filling themselves with the energy of hope can they inspire public support. There is no time to waste on baseless optimism. One must constantly remind oneself that the journey is far from over until the house is complete, and that humility before the people is essential.

It is a call to face the harshness outside the jar and to strive to improve the lives of those who endure hardships. It is dangerous to indulge in empty words and let time slip away. Only through action, not words, can you prove your difference and win trust. You must show, through the eyes of the people, that the once fragile framework of the house is becoming solid and that the leaky roof has been thoroughly repaired.

Our history proves that the river of politics never flows in just one direction. It bends when it encounters obstacles and eventually creates new streams. When the resulting torrent of water sweeps across the land, it reshapes the landscape into something entirely different from the past. The fate of those who prepare for tomorrow and those who do not will also diverge. Some may be left in despair by a shattered reality, while others may find relief in a house that stands firm. None of this is by chance.

Your attitude when opportunity is given-that is what determines the strength of your house. In Go, and in politics alike….

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.