#many before cesare had it too and they all failed to achieve what he did

[kiatheinsomniac]

Chapter III: Rooftop Talks

Part one: here Part two: here

Every student was gathered in the hall. (Y/n) looked around oddly, taking a mental headcount. There were only twenty-five students. That was one class.

They had just met the principal, Crawford Starrick who was standing on a podium and had just announced that they were allowed to have their first day to themselves in order to familiarise themselves with the building and the grounds. Perfectly timed, he asked if anyone had any questions. A few hands went up, along with (Y/n)’s.

“So, do we get to go out on the weekends at all?” Asked a boy who looked strikingly similar to Evie. (Y/n) concluded that this must be her twin, Jacob.

“If you’re willing to make the walk.” The principal replied. (Y/n)’s brows shot up, recalling how long the drive had been through the woods; she couldn’t imagine walking that distance. She was called on next.

“Is this everyone? I mean, it’s only one class unless we’re being split into two smaller classes.” She pointed out her observation.

“Each student here is handpicked for success.” The reactions to this were a mix of straightening backs with pride and scoffing, “We want you all to achieve your very best and thought a singular class would better achieve that.” He explained. (Y/n) nodded her head but something about it felt odd. Just one class? Then again, it could be down to the school being new and having to prove its worth before it could accept more students. “Kassandra.” He called on the Greek who had her hand up.

“So what aren’t we allowed to do?” She questioned, not wanting to get into an argument with staff over something she didn’t know.

“Break curfew, start fights, truant, steal, fail to hand in assigned tasks on time, disobey staff, have mobile phones.” The Greek smiled sweetly.

“Ok.” Was her simple answer. (Y/n) squinted her eyes at her slightly. She seemed far too happy with that answer. Why was she smiling so much? Why did her eyes light up?

With no more questions left, they were dismissed to familiarise themselves with the grounds. (Y/n) made her way over to Kassandra, curious. The Greek grabbed her hand and went running down the hall. A few other students watched this, curious before looking to their peers and shrugging, running after them.

When Kassandra finally stopped, they were standing at the top of a staircase by a set of old rusty doors. (Y/n) turned around to see that they had company. Claudia, Aveline and two other boys who (Y/n) didn’t know were all behind Kassandra and herself.

There was a loud creak and snap. Kassandra had kicked the door open, breaking the worn-down lock inside while keeping the doors intact. There was glass on the outside of the metal framing but it was so overgrown with moss that it was difficult to see what was outside. Was this some sort of balcony?

As soon as the doors were opened, it was revealed to be the roof. They all walked out onto it, chattering among themselves while (Y/n) made her way to the edge of the far wall. She could see the lake that gave Vermere Lake Grammar School its name. It was off in the distance, past the extravagant gardens and field with a few layers of trees blocking it from the view if you were on the ground. It appeared to be a clearing in the middle of the sea of green trees and had a stream trickling into it.

(Y/n) took the opportunity to look around the area from a higher viewpoint which she stood on. Trees and trees and trees covered the hills around the school. The colour was quickly becoming sickening to look at everywhere she turned.

Her (e/c) orbs flickered to the gardens and the sports field. She prayed that she wouldn't have to participate in any form of physical education. She had always been far more academic than athletic and saw it as a waste of time - she could be studying something far more useful in her opinion. The gardens were wonderful and defined by tidy gravel paths. The hedges and trees were trimmed to perfection and the colourful pop of the flowerbeds were a nice change from the constant, droning green. There were statues scattered in a grid among the gardens and a large fountain stood proudly in the epicentre of it all. The water was running, putting on a repetitive show, sunlight reflecting off the water and making it sparkle, while statues of cherub angels and mermaids were in the centre. It was a very flamboyant school, indeed.

She shuffled a little closer to the edge before a pair of hands carefully held her sides in a tight, yet cautious grip, causing her to jolt slightly with surprise.

“Careful, don’t fall.” A male voice spoke from behind her. She turned around to see that it was a boy with long brown hair which he swept back into a ponytail, tied with red satin. His skin was softly sunkissed and he had rich brown eyes with golden tones glimmering amongst them. He wore a deep blue high-necked jumper which defined his torso and was tucked into a pair of black trousers which were accompanied by a black Louis Vuitton belt and black suede boots. She took a step from the edge, which inevitably brought her body closer to his, before making her way past him.

She flashed a shy smile, blushing a little at how he'd held her hips, "Thank you." She managed out before making her way over to Claudia and Aveline seeing as she knew them the best. She thought over leaving so abruptly like that. Perhaps he wanted to get to know the other students here too - after all, most people here didn't know one another. She found herself feeling odd and liking how touchy some of the other students were - the way Kassandra had grabbed her hand, the way Arno had grabbed her sides, etcetera. She never got much affection from her parents and never had any friends to give her any either. She quite liked the contact. It was comforting.

What unnerved her though, was the realisation that she was so touch-starved that she was enjoying this from people that she hardly knew. It was quite a shocking sudden realisation, really; something that she didn't want to admit to so she pushed the thought away. She would be getting to know them all soon enough anyway, right? Well, aside from Cesare and Lucrezia. She didn't plan on associating herself with those two.

She hadn't even been here for a whole day and she was already finding out things about herself that she had failed to notice in the past. It only made her lap up all these new changes even more, finally free of that old routine which she was constantly restrained by back at her home.

(Y/n) watched as a blonde male student went running for the lake, followed by an olive-skinned boy who resembled Kassandra a lot.

"Oh, I think they're going to jump in." She pointed out as she gestured her hand towards the two students that were sprinting across the sports field and making a beeline for the lake.

"Of course he is." The Greek girl sighed, a smile on her lips as she watched one of the two boys in particular. "The taller one's my little brother, Alexios; but, a lot of his friends call him Deimos." She paused for a while, her smile lingering as she witnessed her brother and the blonde student strip off as many layers as they could (while staying decent) before plunging off the small pier and into the cold water, "I never liked his friends back home, they were terrible for him. If he's mean to you: don't take it to heart." She rested a hand on (Y/n)'s shoulder to express her sincerity, "Those friends of his made him an asshole but I'm hoping that he will change now that he's not around them anymore. Mater hopes so too."

"Are you here for a change too?" The ebony-haired female prompted, wanting to get her own story across int he process.

"Because I tried to defend him from his friends, I ended up making a lot of enemies back at home." Shrugged, "I've always been one to punch first and ask questions later." (Y/n)'s eyes roved over Kassandra's arms to see how muscular she was. She definitely seemed like she would win a fight. "I suppose I'm looking to try and change myself in that aspect - learn to negotiate. But I know it won't happen overnight." She laughed at herself.

"I mostly accepted the application here because I wanted a change and I don't really have anyone at home." (Y/n) expressed, "I'd wake up and go to my school where I never had any friends, study all break and lunch, go home to paint or read for half an hour, study until dinner then get in the shower and go to sleep." She explained, "I was always home alone a lot because my parents work all the time. I've never been close to them. . . They didn't even drop me off at the airport. . . The family driver was the only one with me. . ." She spoke nonchalantly but Kassandra looked liked like she was on the verge of heartbreak.

For the Greek girl, her family was one of the most important things in her life, her source of happiness. It made her sad to know that her classmate didn't have anyone at all in the world.

"Well, you have friends now." She beamed, throwing an arm around her shoulder, "A lot of people here seem to like you already." Her gaze went back to her brother and the other student who were still swimming in the cold water and her lips tugged into a frown, "He's going to get sick if he stays in there too long. . . I should go get him." And with that, she left and (Y/n) made her way over to Claudia who was standing under a large greenhouse which was on the roof, gesticulating a lot with her hands while Aveline, the boy in blue from earlier, and the other guy were all paying attention to her.

". . . Just imagine it!" She spoke expressively, "Some lights, some chairs, pillows and blankets! If we clean up the glass and the floor and maybe add a few little flowerpots and trinkets on the shelves! This could be an awesome hangout! And, judging by the doors on the way up here, no one comes up here, so we can keep it as a thing between people we like."

"That's quite a cool idea, actually," Aveline spoke from where she was standing inside the rather large greenhouse, a frown tugged at her full lips, "But it would be nicer with some music."

"I bought my guitar with me." The boy that (Y/n) had yet to meet raised his hand in contribution. He had an Italian accent which made (Y/n)'s eyes flicker between him and Claudia, making note of their similarities. She concluded that this was Ezio, Claudia's brother. He, like Arno, suited long brown hair which was tied back - but he had shorter parts that fell loose and framed his angular face neatly. He wore a white hoodie with dark red joggers and white trainers. She wondered why he was dressed so casually until she realised that he and his sister must have had to wake up early to catch the plane and he would have wanted to be comfortable for the journey.

"I'm going to miss my music - I really hate this 'no phones' rule." The one who (Y/n) had briefly spoken to earlier piped up, "I mean, in a controlled environment like a boarding school, they're not exactly going to get in the way of us learning." He shrugged as he leaned against the glass, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Good point." (Y/n) agreed. Ezio turned his eyes to her, not having noticed her before. The Italian raised one of his brows in amusement, a flirtatious and teasing smile tugging at his scarred lips.

"You're quiet." He pointed out.

"Oh, leave her alone, stronzo. She's not one of your easy girls back home and I don't want you sleeping with my friends." Claudia snapped at her older brother, placing her hands on her hips to try and show her authority. Her older brother smiled at this while (Y/n)'s (e/c) eyes widened.

"Whoa, that escalated quickly." She held up her hands, shocked at how the conversation had gone from him teasing her about being quiet to Claudia telling him to not try it on with her.

"Oh, believe me, it would have escalated either way." The female Auditore rolled her chestnut eyes, "I'm sure that as soon as he said that, he would have mentioned something about getting you to moan loudly." She shot an accusing gaze at her brother who tossed his head around, considering his answer with a playful smile.

"Guilty." He confessed, his eyes going back to (Y/n) who felt quite singled out. The other boy clicked his tongue.

"Talking dirty to a girl as soon as you meet her isn't going to get her in your bed." He corrected.

"It isn't?" Ezio shot back, "Oh please, master seducer Arno, share your knowledgable ways with me?"

"Alright, we're leaving." Aveline rolled her eyes, amusement playing on her lips as Claudia followed her and she took (Y/n) by the arm to lead her away as well, "We don't want any part of your guy talk."

"Is your brother always like that?" (Y/n) asked Claudia.

"Yes." Was her blunt reply, "But don't misinterpret him; he respects women a lot even though he sleeps with all the pretty ones he sees. When my ex cheated on me, he broke his nose and when his ex got a new boyfriend, he made sure that he'd be good to her with a heavy threat."

"That's. . . violent but also incredibly sweet?" (Y/n) laughed while she glanced over her shoulder to where Arno and Ezio were having an in-depth discussion about the best way to seduce a woman. She rolled her eyes before following Aveline back downstairs, hoping that she wasn't still the topic of their conversation.

She decided that she wanted to explore the school building.

[captaiinkick]

꧁   𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐊𝐈𝐍   ꧂

𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐔𝐒𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐃 

𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝟑𝟎𝐓𝐇, 𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟕 - 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐘 𝟒𝐓𝐇, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔

‹  A DUSTY SMALL TOWN, NOW SOMEWHAT OF A NICHE TOURIST DESTINATION AS THE HOMETOWN OF CAPTAIN KICK  ›

griffith, stuck in time and quaint as ever, stood still. it greeted him when he returned, half of the bruises now gone and the other still stubbornly permeating his skin, yet fading. his right ear was still giving him trouble, and the occasional headache was no longer out of the ordinary. but some days were better than others. some days, getting out of bed was easier. he was now permanently tired, noticing himself run out of breath more easily. 

improving his certification went by in a flash. tasks now seemed more forgiving, less demanding than before, when the problem at hand was stopping large-scale threats. he embraced all the coffee-binging and all-nighter-taking with joy. experiencing that felt so unlike living through the initiative. it was a different kind of difficult, but it was worth it. 

the house is sold to a lovely young couple: first-time parents to twins and owners of three labrador pups. will liked them, and quite a lot. they were well-mannered and incredibly sociable. they thanked him for the place, and promised to take care of it. he didn’t doubt they would - this house was meant for a family, not for just for one man. he’d felt so guilty letting such cozy place go to waste inhabited by only will himself. as he walked out, the moving van parked in the driveway awaiting him, he couldn’t help but smile at the doorframe of what was once his room: “will, age 4: 1.07 cm. will, age 7: 121 cm. will, age 15: 160 cm.” 

‹  RECORDS FILLED WITH LOVE SONGS, INHERITED AND PLACED ON THE SHELF OF A NEW HOME ›

the d.c suburbs don’t take long to feel like home. well, in fact, everything instantaneously feels like home as long as zia was around. and she was. 

domestic life suited him, and he embraced this new kind of ease. with the missions over and more time on their hands, will and zia took their tame making sure each room was decorated just the way they liked it. he kept a stash of memorabilia in a shoe box under his bed, leaving it there to surprise him years into the future rather than be placed somewhere visible around the house. a high school teacher spot opened up at an almost-miraculous timing, and he accepted. 

as he learned how to cook, he thought of beth -- he didn’t blame her for the failed casserole attempts. both cooking and baking proved to be harder than he expected: he has little burns and knife cuts-turned-scars to prove it, like those of the other battles. but the apple crumble and brisket turned out almost perfect every time, and he gave himself the credit. for once. 

  ‹  A SMALL ROOM, FILLED WITH FAMILIAR FACES  ›

his face hurt from so much smiling. zia and will’s wedding went by as a small-scale event, exclusive to family and friends. beth officiated and will laughed and blushed throughout hers and other speeches. it felt surreal -- even after the vows had been long-spoken, he still glanced over at zia, continuously, wondering if he was dreaming. it felt like a kind of heaven on earth, just being by her side. 

they danced at impromptu candlelit dinners and took out an rv to drive around the country. it remained unused for a while, especially during the school year. that didn’t keep him from collecting useless maps or setting up a jar labeled “travel plans” where he’d drop spare change every time he came home. they brought in an adopted puppy too, and will could spend afternoons running around the backyard under the glaring july sun playing with it. 

the realization that this is the place he had always dreamed of being in didn’t come overnight. it just dawned on him, after waking up to the woman he loved every single day, after corny jokes and cheesy anniversary presents exchanged. it had all finally come together so perfectly that will was now only realizing how guilty he was of taking it for granted. 

but it was all idyllic. he hadn’t realized how lonely he’d felt in the past, but now, for obvious reason, there was no incentive in him to even pay mind to that realization. now, he was fortunate enough to be a part of zia’s life, and to see her, their friends and himself finally allowed to exist as people. 

   ‹ A JOYOUS WELCOME, THEN MANY MORE LIKE IT  ›

he was old, and he knew. zia was radiant as ever, but time didn’t forgive either of them. the rooms had begun feeling a bit different -- soon enough, will had come to realize the countless pillow forts put up in the vacant rooms of the house had ceased making it feel less… well, empty. 

he thought of damien and cassie, and his talk with the former about fatherhood. his words echoed in will’s head all throughout the process, from the meetings, to the assessment and orientation and the paperwork. and when the first child came to them, will couldn’t help but agree with damien. it’d all been worth it - all the effort, all the preparation. 

throughout their lives, a group of kids -- mostly teens -- come and go. some stay longer than others before they go to a permanent home. that doesn’t mean seeing them leave is any painless, but will always made sure to write them a postcard. some of them stay. he loved them all the same. he’d learned all of their birthdays, memorized the allergies and the uncomfortable topics that ought to never be brought up at dinner. he didn’t mind eating sprinkled-covered pancakes for breakfast every morning, so long as the kids liked them. every friday, he took some time to make someone’s favorite dish for dinner - zia’s went first, obviously, then the children’s, and then his. when they fostered a girl named adelaide, will cried as he hugged her upon her arrival. he and zia never missed a parent meeting, or a recital - not even a science fair.

he was aging, and so was zia, but that didn’t mean they had to miss out on parenthood. they are there for kids who need them, not as heroes, but just as understanding parents. 

   ‹  DEEPENING LAUGHTER LINES  ›

there was always a very particular sensation that coursed through him when the topic of the other team members came up. it was a mixture of pride and contentment. he couldn’t have asked for a better crew, and simply seeing or hearing of their achievements moved him. 

will always smiled fondly when hearing of eve’s time at her ranch, finding amusement in the switch of their places. he missed edie, a lot, housing so many unsaid things and finding himself clutching the inherited set of keychains a bit tighter when thinking about them. he felt happy for damien and carlos, and marveled at beth and laura’s commitment to groundbreaking changes to the initiative. and of course, it went without saying that he was glad to see tango make it back to them. his return had had will foolishly thinking they’d be allowed a lot more time together, the team reunited and thriving as they deserved. the aftermath of his passing wasn’t merciful, at least not to will. tango’s old age didn’t make his loss easier to bear, but wherever he was this time around - perhaps with cesare, benji and addy -, will hoped he was at peace. 

 ‹  THE SMELL OF STERILIZED HOSPITAL HALLS  ›

will had never really felt at ease in a hospital, but he was no stranger to them now -- they’d seen everything, from dreadfully-scratched knees to broken arms, all side-effects of rough-housing. he put on a stoic face for the children, for calmness’ sake. 

but that time was different. his hair was grey by then, and he had to miss out on all the overly-sugary foods. shame, really - the animal cookie-m&m-sprinkled ice cream was growing on him. many kids had grown up and moved out too, their high school degrees hanging on the living room wall and the cap and gown pictures evenly distributed too. 

he’d lost track of the times he’d had to say “i’ll sit this one out”. he’d also had to take time off from the high school, getting light-headed from standing for too long. 

he saw his father in himself, feeling older than he actually was. will was thankful he at least was granted some leverage, that there were no signs of the disease on the outside. it was a silent passing, nothing that couldn’t be forgotten with an insistent-enough “i’m okay” and a smile. 

he’d been doing surprisingly well til then, calling carlos and damien first thing in the morning of their anniversary, recording vhs-tapes and sending them to edie as he hoped they reached him, checking in on laura, beth and keller and thanking them for revolutionizing the bureau. the man had visited, yes, but he could rarely bring himself to stay for long: the memories still hurt, almost fresh and brand-new when he eyed the addy and benji’s memorial or envisioned glimpses of the old structure in flames, the sight of cesare’s body vivid as if it had all happened yesterday. 

“what did the doctor say?” zia asked.

“oh, nothing - the usual. i’ve still a couple years left in me.”

that last night, he checked the calendar before he headed upstairs. there was a scheduled get-together with the team a week from now - he’d remember, he always did. the kitchen lights were turned off, and he could hear zia having just gone to bed. his vision blurred two thirds of the staircase in. 

the last thing on his mind, was that he regretted not having cherished their last goodnight-kiss enough. 

   ‹  TO FEEL AT HOME  ›

it took a while, though it didn’t feel like it. maybe this was the way edie experienced it, with time going by so differently for him. will regretted not ever extending any of them a proper farewell, and that little, nagging bit of selfishness appreciated that he wasn’t there to see them pass away, for he knows he wouldn’t have been able to bear it. 

he did feel incredibly guilty toward zia for forcing her through such pain ( had he had it his way, he would’ve taken all of her grief and made it his own. she didn’t deserve such suffocating emotions, not when she’d only shown him kindness and understanding ).

but the familiar faces arrived one by one. he could finally have impromptu candlelit dances with zia again, talk to beth about the perils of cooking and to eve about those regarding farming, and have another glass of scotch with damien. hey, maybe they’d even manage to have tango finally meet his cheeseburger-loving cat friend - who knew. 

in a moment of quiet, he thinks of himself, still able to wield the shield yet only lowering it to the ground. he leaves behind the whip and pistol, and the costume. he lets out a breath, and smiles to himself, before thanking captain kick for the last couple of years.

[revlyncox]

Grace

This sermon was adapted for the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, January 28, 2017.

This past week, I was at the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association Institute for Excellence in Ministry. The planning committee went out of their way to welcome parents of young children to the conference, so our daily worship services included some of the same delightful sounds of life that I so treasure about congregational worship. There were always four or five babies being bounced in carriers or crawling up the aisles to get a better view of the choir. I was reminded of the days when my own kids were still in their cribs.

When our (now seven-and-a-half-year-old) twins were newborns, people used to tell us, “Sleep when the baby sleeps,” which would have been good advice if they slept at the same time. At around six months old, we decided that they and we were ready for sleep training. That means we practiced putting the babies down in their cribs, telling them good night, and leaving the room.

I’m sure you can imagine how popular this was with the babies at first. The first night, we went through cycles of crying, reassurance, and calming for an hour and a half. After that, both babies stayed asleep for about ten hours. The next night they settled down somewhat more quickly. The third night involved only half an hour of objections. It wasn’t long before we all got used to the routine and neither the babies nor the adults did much crying at bedtime.

Once they were asleep, we had blessed peace. We knew they were getting what their bodies needed. The adults could sleep. Or get some work done. Or try to get some work done and accidentally sleep. It felt like heavenly serenity, achieved with some struggle. In the morning, the twins didn’t appear to resent or even remember the betrayal of the night before. They were glad to see us.

Starting over, well resourced, residing in the present moment with joy rather than dwelling on negative things from the past; this is an experience of grace. Like the sleep of medium-sized babies, the experience of grace is itself one of ease, yet we may struggle a bit with the disciplines that help open up our perception of grace. To me, grace is a force of the universe that is always there, an assurance of the acceptance of the Source of Love, a resource for reconciliation, and a model of how we can live in connection with one another. Grace is the truth that sets us free and the re-alignment of right relationship. To open ourselves up to its power, we practice forgiveness, self-compassion, and covenant.

Forgiving Others

Forgiveness is one path to perceiving grace. We’re winding up a month with the theme of forgiveness, so I just have a bit more to say before we move on. Forgiveness is about retaining the memory without continuing to feed the feelings of anger and disappointment. Forgiveness can lead to making amends, reconciliation, and a stronger relationship, especially when more than one person is engaged in the process. Occasionally, forgiveness means letting something be in the past and finding a way to love someone from afar, because the hurt is too deep and the harmful behavior is too persistent for closeness. For everyday injuries, may we practice forgiveness in ways that are healthy for ourselves and life-affirming for all.

Our story earlier, “Mussa and Nagib,” is an allegory that illustrates this. The story was written by Julio Cesar de Mello e Souza, an early twentieth century fiction writer and mathematician from Brazil, writing under the pen name Malba Tahan. He set the tale in a place far away from his personal experience to give it a legendary quality.

In the story, hurt was written in sand, but selflessness was chiseled in rock. Writing in sand doesn’t take much time. It’s OK to remember mistakes and learn from them, but don’t dwell on judgments. On the other hand, engraving kindness in stone takes some focus. Writing thank-you notes or recording the act of kindness in a journal can help us hold on to those feelings of connection and gratitude.

Sometimes resentments are attempts to prevent being hurt in the same way twice. But grudges do not necessarily offer protection, and they have their own drawbacks. Addressing the incident directly—saying what happened, how you feel, and what requests (if any) you would like to make to the other person—is one way to reduce the risk of being hurt again.

In a sense, Mussa’s act of writing in the sand where his friend Nagib could see it was a form of direct address. He called attention to the hurt, the incident itself, without any theories about what it meant or labels for his friend’s character. It is so easy to jump from “ouch” to “you don’t care about me” or “you are a bad person” in a moment of anger. Reflect on facts first. Notice your feelings. Figure out what you really need. Then decide how to respond.

Direct address is not a guarantee, but I think the benefits outweigh the risks. Carving a negative experience in stone takes a lot of time and effort, and then you have this heavy rock you have to carry around. It may be that some distance is necessary for physical safety. Honor your own well-being and boundaries, yet also account for what is lost when a grudge takes the lead.

When an event is far in the past, you can hold on to the wisdom you gained from that experience and the memory of the strengths you showed in navigating through it without pacing continuous circles of resentment and judgment. Whether something is drawn in the sand or engraved in the stone depends on how much time and energy you devote to committing the facts, feelings, and inferences to memory. Choose consciously. Forgive when you can.

Self-Compassion

For some of us, forgiving others is easier than forgiving ourselves. A proportional, productive response to our own mistakes doesn’t necessarily come naturally. Perhaps we have too much information from inside our own heads, too intimate a knowledge of the guffs and muffs that other people didn’t necessarily notice. Another challenge is that, unlike conflicts with other people, we don’t have as many options for putting temporary distance between ourselves and ourselves while we reflect on what we need. Of the options we do have, few of them are healthy for very long. Self-compassion helps us to continue to do the work of reflection in moments when we doubt ourselves, or when other people doubt us. Self-compassion reminds us that we have value, no matter what setbacks occur.

When we are born, we are dropped into the middle of a complex and beautiful creative process. Real life assumes trial and error. Scientists know this. Making hypotheses—educated guesses—and discovering that they are actually wrong is part of the scientific process. One of the challenges is to avoid thinking that our worth as a person depends on being right or perfect. The universe needs more from us than perfection. The universe needs us to move and interact and grow.

For instance, astronomers and physicists had to come around to the understanding that they were wrong about the composition of the stars thanks to the work of Cecilia Payne, who was known later in life as Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin.

Cecilia Payne was born in Wendover, England, in 1900. (She was a Unitarian and belonged to First Parish Lexington, MA, as an adult, but that’s not important for this story.) Payne arrived at the brand new observatory at Harvard University in September of 1923 for graduate study.

In her doctoral work, Payne suggested that stars have a high abundance of hydrogen and helium when compared with planets. We accept this as a basic truth now, but it went against one the assumptions that guided astronomy at the time; namely, that planets must have the same composition as stars. Her mentor, Henry Norris Russell, talked her out of highlighting this controversial finding in her dissertation. She followed his advice. Her thesis was signed off in May 1925 and she earned the first ever PhD in astronomy (previously astronomers received degrees in physics).

Soon after that, Russell went to visit another former student who was studying the solar flash spectrum. He saw the light, so to speak, and in 1929 Russell published a paper in which he argued for the abundance of hydrogen. At the very end of his paper, Russell gave credit to Payne’s 1925 conclusions, neglecting to mention that he had originally disagreed.

Scientists, it seems to me, have to be more loyal to the scientific method and to their identity as researchers than they are to being right. Cecilia Payne certainly experienced obstacles and discouragement before arriving at Harvard. I can only imagine the persistent confidence in her quest that kept her going, even when her theories were wrong, and especially when they were right but not accepted. Similarly, Russell was a good enough scientist to change his tune eventually, although one would wish he could have trusted Payne in the first place. Mistakes are part of the process.

I wonder how it would be if we approached emotions, spirituality, and human communication with a scientific openness to mistakes. Our worthiness as people is not dependent on being correct or accomplished or productive. Your mission in this life, whatever you determine that to be, is larger than any individual setback. Beating up on ourselves for our current situation or for the choices we’ve made in the past does not help our mission. Acknowledging our mistakes and figuring out what we can learn from them does.

Be gentle with yourself. Have compassion for the previous version of you, who had to make decisions without all of the information or resources or support you might have needed. Remember that you are made of stardust, one with the Spirit of Life, and that the journey leads onward.

Covenant: Anticipating Grace; or: The Freedom to Fail

Practicing being open to grace as we forgive ourselves and each other is a little easier in a covenanted community. Unitarian Universalist congregations like this one are covenanted communities. What holds us together is not creed or personality or even a appreciation for acoustic guitar, but the sacred promises that give us our foundation.

Here at UCH, some of those promises are spoken and some are unspoken. We can disagree about ideas without rejecting people. We bring our whole selves into this room, fully present, accepting all the aspects of identity that make our companions who they are. Whoever you are and whomever you love, you are welcome here.

If we forget for a moment to be kind or to do the work of active acceptance, we’ll talk about it; individually if possible, or in a group if we need to do that. Coming back to the table when a promise has been broken is also part of covenant. Covenants can be sacred because they are capable of embracing human imperfection. The sacred has avenues for healing.

Committing to a covenant is an obligation. It’s work. Being connected means we voluntarily give up on some of our freedom. On the other hand, being in a covenanted community also gives us freedom. It gives us the freedom to fail and to come back from failure. Covenant offers the freedom to be broken, to have our brokenness recognized, and to be appreciated for the entire picture: broken and whole, flawed and fabulous. That’s grace.

A covenant that promotes kindness and forgiveness makes it possible for people to be authentic and vulnerable. Committing to dismantle oppressions like sexism and racism and ableism increase the safety of sharing real life experiences. Trying things is easier when people have the freedom to fail.

Knowing that there is room in this circle for the entirety of life, may each person know the freedom to lay out all the challenges, anxieties, works-in-progress, gifts, and talents they bring with them into this community. Volunteer to usher, or for a Saturday breakfast with Gather the Spirit, or for the maintenance team. Say what’s really on your heart in your Covenant Group. Make something daring for the Stewardship Potluck on February 9. I look forward to receiving your RSVP by this Friday. Have confidence that you are welcome in this covenanted community. There is grace here.

Conclusion

I hope that transforming our perception of the world so that we can understand the grace among us is as easy as a medium-sized baby waking up in the morning after ten hours of sleep. Let us awaken to the possibility of starting over. Retain the lessons of the past without putting energy into bitterness. Forgive when you can. Let us awaken to the assurance that we are one with the universe, and to the knowledge that our quest is bigger than whatever causes us to doubt. Be gentle with yourself. Let us awaken to the power of covenant as we form a community of sacred resilience. The bonds of congregational life bring the freedom of authenticity. The Source of Love is in us and among us always. Cultivate the awareness of grace.

So be it. Blessed be. Amen.

[thefortyeightlawsofpower-blog]

LAW # 15 : CRUSH YOUR ENEMY TOTALLY

JUDGEMENT

All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely. (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way.) If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smoulders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation: The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

No rivalry between leaders is more celebrated in Chinese history than the struggle between Hsiang Yu and Liu Pang. These two generals began their careers as friends, fighting on the same side. Hsiang Yu came from the nobility; large and powerful, given to bouts of violence and temper, a bit dull witted, he was yet a mighty warrior who always fought at the head of his troops. Liu Pang came from peasant stock. He had never been much of a soldier, and preferred women and wine to fighting; in fact, he was something of a scoundrel. But he was wily, and he had the ability to recognize the best strategists, keep them as his advisers, and listen to their advice. He had risen in the army through these strengths.

The remnants of an enemy can become active like those of a disease or fire. Hence, these should be exterminated completely.... One should never ignore an enemy, knowing him to be weak. He becomes dangerous in due course, like the spark of fire in a haystack.

KAUTILYA, INDIAN PHILOSOPHER, THIRD CENTURY B.C.

In 208 B.C., the king of Ch‘u sent two massive armies to conquer the powerful kingdom of Ch’in. One army went north, under the generalship of Sung Yi, with Hsiang Yu second in command; the other, led by Liu Pang, headed straight toward Ch’in. The target was the kingdom’s splendid capital, Hsien-yang. And Hsiang Yu, ever violent and impatient, could not stand the idea that Liu Pang would get to Hsien-yang first, and perhaps would assume command of the entire army.

THE TRAP AT SINIGAGLIA

On the day Ramiro was executed, Cesare [Borgia] quit Cesena, leaving the mutilated body on the town square, and marched south. Three days later he arrived at Fano, where he received the envoys of the city of Ancona, who assured him of their loyalty. A messenger from Vitellozzo Vitelli announced that the little Adriatic port of Sinigaglia had surrendered to the condottieri [mercenary soldiers]. Only the citadel, in charge of the Genoese Andrea Doria, still held out, and Doria refused to hand it over to anyone except Cesare himself. [Borgia] sent word that he would arrive the next day, which was just what the condottieri wanted to hear. Once he reached Sinigaglia. Cesare would be an easy prey, caught between the citadel and their forces ringing the town.... The condottieri were sure they had military superiority, believing that the departure of the French troops had lef? Cesare with only a small force.

In fact, according to Machiavelli. [Borgia] had left Cesena with ten thousand infantry-men and three thousand horse, taking pains to split up his men so that they would march along parallel routes before converging on Sinigaglia. The reason for such a large force was that he knew, from a confession extracted from Ramiro de Lorca, what the condottieri had up their sleeve. He therefore decided to turn their own trap against them. This was the masterpiece of trickery that the historian Paolo Giovio later called “the magnificent deceit. ” At dawn on December 31 [1502], Cesare reached the outskirts of Sinigaglia.... Led by Michelotto Corella, Cesare’s advance guard of two hundred lances took up its position on the canal bridge.... This control of the bridge effectively prevented the conspirators’ troops from withdrawing....

Cesare greeted the condottieri effusively and invited them to join him.... Michelotto had prepared the Palazzo Bernardino for Cesare’s use, and the duke invited the condottieri inside.... Once indoors the men were quietly arrested by guards who crept up from the rear.... [Cesare] gave orders for an attack on Vitelli’s and Orsini’s soldiers in the outlying areas.... That night, while their troops were being crushed, Michelotto throttled Oliveretto and Vitelli in the Bernardino palace.... At one fell swoop, [Borgia] had got rid of his former generals and worst enemies.

THE BORGIAS, IVAN CLOULAS, 1989

At one point on the northern front, Hsiang’s commander, Sung Yi, hesitated in sending his troops into battle. Furious, Hsiang entered Sung Yi’s tent, proclaimed him a traitor, cut off his head, and assumed sole command of the army. Without waiting for orders, he left the northern front and marched directly on Hsien-yang. He felt certain he was the better soldier and general than Liu, but, to his utter astonishment, his rival, leading a smaller, swifter army, managed to reach Hsien-yang first. Hsiang had an adviser, Fan Tseng, who warned him, “This village headman [Liu Pang] used to be greedy only for riches and women, but since entering the capital he has not been led astray by wealth, wine, or sex. That shows he is aiming high.”

Fan Tseng urged Hsiang to kill his rival before it was too late. He told the general to invite the wily peasant to a banquet at their camp outside Hsien-yang, and, in the midst of a celebratory sword dance, to have his head cut off. The invitation was sent; Liu fell for the trap, and came to the banquet. But Hsiang hesitated in ordering the sword dance, and by the time he gave the signal, Liu had sensed a trap, and managed to escape. “Bah!” cried Fan Tseng in disgust, seeing that Hsiang had botched the plot. “One cannot plan with a simpleton. Liu Pang will steal your empire yet and make us all his prisoners.”

Realizing his mistake, Hsiang hurriedly marched on Hsien-yang, this time determined to hack off his rival’s head. Liu was never one to fight when the odds were against him, and he abandoned the city. Hsiang captured Hsien-yang, murdered the young prince of Ch’in, and burned the city to the ground. Liu was now Hsiang’s bitter enemy, and he pursued him for many months, finally cornering him in a walled city. Lacking food, his army in disarray, Liu sued for peace.

Again Fan Tseng warned Hsiang, “Crush him now! If you let him go again, you will be sorry later.” But Hsiang decided to be merciful. He wanted to bring Liu back to Ch’u alive, and to force his former friend to acknowledge him as master. But Fan proved right: Liu managed to use the negotiations for his surrender as a distraction, and he escaped with a small army. Hsiang, amazed that he had yet again let his rival slip away, once more set out after Liu, this time with such ferocity that he seemed to have lost his mind. At one point, having captured Liu’s father in battle, Hsiang stood the old man up during the fighting and yelled to Liu across the line of troops, “Surrender now, or I shall boil your father alive!” Liu calmly answered, “But we are sworn brothers. So my father is your father also. If you insist on boiling your own father, send me a bowl of the soup!” Hsiang backed down, and the struggle continued.

A few weeks later, in the thick of the hunt, Hsiang scattered his forces unwisely, and in a surprise attack Liu was able to surround his main garrison. For the first time the tables were turned. Now it was Hsiang who sued for peace. Liu’s top adviser urged him to destroy Hsiang, crush his army, show no mercy. “To let him go would be like rearing a tiger—it will devour you later,” the adviser said. Liu agreed.

Making a false treaty, he lured Hsiang into relaxing his defense, then slaughtered almost all of his army. Hsiang managed to escape. Alone and on foot, knowing that Liu had put a bounty on his head, he came upon a small group of his own retreating soldiers, and cried out, “I hear Liu Pang has offered one thousand pieces of gold and a fief of ten thousand families for my head. Let me do you a favor.” Then he slit his own throat and died.

Interpretation

Hsiang Yu had proven his ruthlessness on many an occasion. He rarely hesitated in doing away with a rival if it served his purposes. But with Liu Pang he acted differently. He respected his rival, and did not want to defeat him through deception; he wanted to prove his superiority on the battlefield, even to force the clever Liu to surrender and to serve him. Every time he had his rival in his hands, something made him hesitate—a fatal sympathy with or respect for the man who, after all, had once been a friend and comrade in arms. But the moment Hsiang made it clear that he intended to do away with Liu, yet failed to accomplish it, he sealed his own doom. Liu would not suffer the same hesitation once the tables were turned.

This is the fate that faces all of us when we sympathize with our enemies, when pity, or the hope of reconciliation, makes us pull back from doing away with them. We only strengthen their fear and hatred of us. We have beaten them, and they are humiliated; yet we nurture these resentful vipers who will one day kill us. Power cannot be dealt with this way. It must be exterminated, crushed, and denied the chance to return to haunt us. This is all the truer with a former friend who has become an enemy. The law governing fatal antagonisms reads: Reconciliation is out of the question. Only one side can win, and it must win totally.

Liu Pang learned this lesson well. After defeating Hsiang Yu, this son of a farmer went on to become supreme commander of the armies of Ch‘u. Crushing his next rival—the king of Ch’u, his own former leader—he crowned himself emperor, defeated everyone in his path, and went down in history as one of the greatest rulers of China, the immortal Han Kao-tsu, founder of the Han Dynasty.

To have ultimate victory, you must be ruthless.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, 1769-1821

Those who seek to achieve things should show no mercy.

Kautilya, Indian philosopher third century B.C.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

Wu Chao, born in A.D. 625, was the daughter of a duke, and as a beautiful young woman of many charms, she was accordingly attached to the harem of Emperor T’ai Tsung.

The imperial harem was a dangerous place, full of young concubines vying to become the emperor’s favorite. Wu’s beauty and forceful character quickly won her this battle, but, knowing that an emperor, like other powerful men, is a creature of whim, and that she could easily be replaced, she kept her eye on the future.

Wu managed to seduce the emperor’s dissolute son, Kao Tsung, on the only possible occasion when she could find him alone: while he was relieving himself at the royal urinal. Even so, when the emperor died and Kao Tsung took over the throne, she still suffered the fate to which all wives and concubines of a deceased emperor were bound by tradition and law: Her head shaven, she entered a convent, for what was supposed to be the rest of her life. For seven years Wu schemed to escape. By communicating in secret with the new emperor, and by befriending his wife, the empress, she managed to get a highly unusual royal edict allowing her to return to the palace and to the royal harem. Once there, she fawned on the empress, while still sleeping with the emperor. The empress did not discourage this—she had yet to provide the emperor with an heir, her position was vulnerable, and Wu was a valuable ally.

In 654 Wu Chao gave birth to a child. One day the empress came to visit, and as soon as she had left, Wu smothered the newborn—her own baby. When the murder was discovered, suspicion immediately fell on the empress, who had been on the scene moments earlier, and whose jealous nature was known by all. This was precisely Wu’s plan. Shortly thereafter, the empress was charged with murder and executed. Wu Chao was crowned empress in her place. Her new husband, addicted to his life of pleasure, gladly gave up the reins of government to Wu Chao, who was from then on known as Empress Wu.

Although now in a position of great power, Wu hardly felt secure. There were enemies everywhere; she could not let down her guard for one moment. Indeed, when she was forty-one, she began to fear that her beautiful young niece was becoming the emperor’s favorite. She poisoned the woman with a clay mixed into her food. In 675 her own son, touted as the heir apparent, was poisoned as well. The next-eldest son—illegitimate, but now the crown prince—was exiled a little later on trumped-up charges. And when the emperor died, in 683, Wu managed to have the son after that declared unfit for the throne. All this meant that it was her youngest, most ineffectual son who finally became emperor. In this way she continued to rule.

Over the next five years there were innumerable palace coups. All of them failed, and all of the conspirators were executed. By 688 there was no one left to challenge Wu. She proclaimed herself a divine descendant of Buddha, and in 690 her wishes were finally granted: She was named Holy and Divine “Emperor” of China.

Wu became emperor because there was literally nobody left from the previous T’ang dynasty. And so she ruled unchallenged, for over a decade of relative peace. In 705, at the age of eighty, she was forced to abdicate.

Interpretation

All who knew Empress Wu remarked on her energy and intelligence. At the time, there was no glory available for an ambitious woman beyond a few years in the imperial harem, then a lifetime walled up in a convent. In Wu’s gradual but remarkable rise to the top, she was never naive. She knew that any hesitation, any momentary weakness, would spell her end. If, every time she got rid of a rival a new one appeared, the solution was simple: She had to crush them all or be killed herself. Other emperors before her had followed the same path to the top, but Wu—who, as a woman, had next to no chance to gain power—had to be more ruthless still.

Empress Wu’s forty-year reign was one of the longest in Chinese history. Although the story of her bloody rise to power is well known, in China she is considered one of the period’s most able and effective rulers.

A priest asked the dying Spanish statesman and general Ramón Maria Narváez. (1800-1868), “Does your Excellency forgive all your enemies ? ”I do not have to forgive my enemies,” answered Narváez, ”I have had them all shot. ”

KEYS TO POWER

It is no accident that the two stories illustrating this law come from China: Chinese history abounds with examples of enemies who were left alive and returned to haunt the lenient. “Crush the enemy” is a key strategic tenet of Sun-tzu, the fourth-century-B.C. author of The Art of War. The idea is simple: Your enemies wish you ill. There is nothing they want more than to eliminate you. If, in your struggles with them, you stop halfway or even three quarters of the way, out of mercy or hope of reconciliation, you only make them more determined, more embittered, and they will someday take revenge. They may act friendly for the time being, but this is only because you have defeated them. They have no choice but to bide their time.

The solution: Have no mercy. Crush your enemies as totally as they would crush you. Ultimately the only peace and security you can hope for from your enemies is their disappearance.

Mao Tse-tung, a devoted reader of Sun-tzu and of Chinese history generally, knew the importance of this law. In 1934 the Communist leader and some 75,000 poorly equipped soldiers fled into the desolate mountains of western China to escape Chiang Kai-shek’s much larger army, in what has since been called the Long March.

Chiang was determined to eliminate every last Communist, and by a few years later Mao had less than 10,000 soldiers left. By 1937, in fact, when China was invaded by Japan, Chiang calculated that the Communists were no longer a threat. He chose to give up the chase and concentrate on the Japanese. Ten years later the Communists had recovered enough to rout Chiang’s army. Chiang had forgotten the ancient wisdom of crushing the enemy; Mao had not. Chiang was pursued until he and his entire army fled to the island of Taiwan. Nothing remains of his regime in mainland China to this day.

The wisdom behind “crushing the enemy” is as ancient as the Bible: Its first practitioner may have been Moses, who learned it from God Himself, when He parted the Red Sea for the Jews, then let the water flow back over the pursuing Egyptians so that “not so much as one of them remained.” When Moses returned from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments and found his people worshipping the Golden Calf, he had every last offender slaughtered. And just before he died, he told his followers, finally about to enter the Promised Land, that when they had defeated the tribes of Canaan they should “utterly destroy them... make no covenant with them, and show no mercy to them.”

The goal of total victory is an axiom of modern warfare, and was codified as such by Carl von Clausewitz, the premier philosopher of war. Analyzing the campaigns of Napoleon, von Clausewitz wrote, “We do claim that direct annihilation of the enemy’s forces must always be the dominant consideration.... Once a major victory is achieved there must be no talk of rest, of breathing space... but only of the pursuit, going for the enemy again, seizing his capital, attacking his reserves and anything else that might give his country aid and comfort.” The reason for this is that after war come negotiation and the division of territory. If you have only won a partial victory, you will inevitably lose in negotiation what you have gained by war.

The solution is simple: Allow your enemies no options. Annihilate them and their territory is yours to carve. The goal of power is to control your enemies completely, to make them obey your will. You cannot afford to go halfway. If they have no options, they will be forced to do your bidding. This law has applications far beyond the battlefield. Negotiation is the insidious viper that will eat away at your victory, so give your enemies nothing to negotiate, no hope, no room to maneuver. They are crushed and that is that.

Realize this: In your struggle for power you will stir up rivalries and create enemies. There will be people you cannot win over, who will remain your enemies no matter what. But whatever wound you inflicted on them, deliberately or not, do not take their hatred personally. Just recognize that there is no possibility of peace between you, especially as long as you stay in power. If you let them stick around, they will seek revenge, as certainly as night follows day. To wait for them to show their cards is just silly; as Empress Wu understood, by then it will be too late.

Be realistic: With an enemy like this around, you will never be secure. Remember the lessons of history, and the wisdom of Moses and Mao: Never go halfway.

It is not, of course, a question of murder, it is a question of banishment. Sufficiently weakened and then exiled from your court forever, your enemies are rendered harmless. They have no hope of recovering, insinuating themselves and hurting you. And if they cannot be banished, at least understand that they are plotting against you, and pay no heed to whatever friendliness they feign. Your only weapon in such a situation is your own wariness. If you cannot banish them immediately, then plot for the best time to act.

Image: A Viper crushed beneath your foot but left alive, will rear up and bite you with a double dose of venom. An enemy that is left around is like a half-dead viper that you nurse back to health. Time makes the venom grow stronger.

Authority: For it must be noted, that men must either be caressed or else annihilated; they will revenge themselves for small injuries, but cannot do so for great ones; the injury therefore that we do to a man must be such that we need not fear his vengeance. (Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527)

REVERSAL

This law should very rarely be ignored, but it does sometimes happen that it is better to let your enemies destroy themselves, if such a thing is possible, than to make them suffer by your hand. In warfare, for example, a good general knows that if he attacks an army when it is cornered, its soldiers will fight much more fiercely. It is sometimes better, then, to leave them an escape route, a way out. As they retreat, they wear themselves out, and are ultimately more demoralized by the retreat than by any defeat he might inflict on the battlefield. When you have someone on the ropes, then—but only when you are sure they have no chance of recovery—you might let them hang themselves. Let them be the agents of their own destruction. The result will be the same, and you won’t feel half as bad.

Finally, sometimes by crushing an enemy, you embitter them so much that they spend years and years plotting revenge. The Treaty of Versailles had such an effect on the Germans. Some would argue that in the long run it would be better to show some leniency. The problem is, your leniency involves another risk—it may embolden the enemy, which still harbors a grudge, but now has some room to operate. It is almost always wiser to crush your enemy. If they plot revenge years later, do not let your guard down, but simply crush them again.

[sportsleague365]

David Luiz celebrating his goal that ensured Chelsea’s victory (Getty Images)Manchester City’s unbeaten record went up in flames at Stamford Bridge as goals from N’Golo Kante and David Luiz handed Chelsea an impressive 2-0 win. Kante opened the scoring against the run of play, performing his very best Frank Lampard impression by arriving late inside the penalty area to thump a shot home after being picked out by Eden Hazard’s intelligent cut-back. Luiz made it two on 78 minutes with a wonderful header that looped majestically into the top corner at the far post, this time from an in-swinging Hazard corner to settle the contest and ensure City’s first Premier League defeat since April. Both managers decided against naming an out-and-out striker with Eden Hazard preferred to Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata for Chelsea, while Raheem Sterling played centrally with Sergio Aguero out injured and Gabriel Jesus starting on the bench. Here are some of the main talking points! Star man– N’Golo KanteN’Golo Kante was mobbed by teammates after opening the scoring (Getty Images)In the wake of Chelsea’s unbeaten record crumbling after defeats to Spurs and Wolves, Sarri has had to field numerous questions about his use of Kante having shifted him into an advanced midfield role in order to accommodate Jorginho at the base of midfield. Having been accused of misusing Kante regularly over the past few weeks, you suspect Sarri might afford himself a wry smile as he enjoys a glass or two of Chianti this evening given the impact that Kante made in City’s penalty box. Like every player in royal rather than sky blue, Kante was a virtual bystander for the opening 44 minutes of the game, yet he came alive when it mattered, latching onto a Hazard pass to hand the hosts a scarcely believable lead. That wasn’t the only good moment Kante came up with in City’s box. He created two chances in total – more than Willian and as many as Hazard and Pedro – with one of those a lovely slide-rule passes across the box to Willian who forced a save from Ederson. Perhaps the Kante experiment is starting to work after all… Weak link – Riyad MahrezRiyad Mahrez was ineffective at Stamford Bridge (Getty Images)Slightly harsh on the Algerian as none of City’s forward players were at their best, but Guardiola’s decision to sacrifice Leroy Sane for Gabriel Jesus rather than Riyad Mahrez seemed slightly harsh considering Sane had looked extremely dangerous in the first half. Sane had passed up a great opportunity to score in the first half when he dawdled on the ball for too long before being dispossessed, yet he did have Cesar Azpilicueta rattled at times, which is more than Mahrez had on his opposite number Marcos Alonso. Although Alonso is undoubtedly the most effective attacking full-back in the division, his defensive shortcomings have been exposed recently and it was clear early on that City were targeting that side, attacking down Chelsea’s left 42.7% of the time, compared to 37.2% on the left. However, Mahrez struggled to get any joy, failing to create a single chance – Sane, in contrast managed two in 31 fewer minutes – or have a single shot on target. In fairness to Mahrez, though, none of his teammates were up to their usual high standards. What surprised us? Chelsea’s lack of possessionEden Hazard was starved of service in the first half (Getty Images)Under Sarri, Chelsea’s average possession rate in the Premier League has rocketed up from 54% last season to 63% this, moving from fifth in that particular metric to second, just behind today’s opponents Manchester City. The Italian’s desire to evolve Chelsea into a passing side has been obvious since his first game in charge but at Stamford Bridge, both Sarri and his players well and truly met their match as City passed them off the mark – in the opening 44 minutes, at least. By the end of the first half, City had enjoyed 62.4%possession to Chelsea’s 38.6%, controlling the tempo of the game and spending virtually the entirety of it camped inside their hosts half. Indeed, the average position map for both sides showed that 16players were in Chelsea’s own half – all 11 for the home side as well as five City players. Chelsea were poor and fortunate to be ahead at the interval and while much-improved in the second period, little changed in terms of possession as City sought a way back into the game. In the end, it ended up 61.3% in City’s favour. There are certain managers whom you suspect that the process is as important as the result, Sarri being one of them. Before the game, he lauded Pep Guardiola as the best coach in the world and ultimately his aim to mould a Chelsea side in City’s image: one that can dominate games through controlled possession and win major honours while doing so. This Chelsea performance was more symptomatic of Antonio Conte than Sarri. Nevertheless, given the esteem in which he holds Guardiola, Chelsea’s current Italian manager will most certainly savour this result, no matter how it was achieved. MORE: CHELSEA FC Maurizio Sarri reveals why he's dropped Alvaro Morata from Chelsea squad vs Man CityMaurizio Sarri reveals exciting transfer news ahead of January windowLucas Torreira, N'Golo Kante and the evolution of the defensive midfielder #NGoloKante #PremierLeague #MaurizioSarri

[ultrasfcb-blog]

World Cup 2018: How coach Tite has brought Brazil into the modern age

World Cup 2018: How coach Tite has brought Brazil into the modern age

World Cup 2018: How coach Tite has brought Brazil into the modern age

Brazil 1-7 Germany: The night Brazil collapsed in the 2014 World Cup semi-final

World Cup Match of the Day, 9 July 2014. Argentina have just beaten the Netherlands on penalties to reach the final. But everyone is still trying to assimilate the scarcely credible result from the previous day’s semi-final.

Hosts Brazil have been thrashed 7-1 by Germany. What happens now?

“Will Brazil now want a root-and-branch overhaul of their system?” asks Mark Chapman.

“I hope so,” I replied – but feared that after a 10-day period of mourning, things would chug along much as before.

And that is how it turned out.

Another dead end with Dunga

Soon after the World Cup, Brazil made the bizarre decision to reappoint former midfielder Dunga as coach.

He had been in charge from 2006-2010. His only other coaching experience was an unsuccessful few months with Brazilian club side Internacional.

The key phrase of Brazil’s 2018 World Cup qualification campaign is his ‘I have learned how to learn’

He was not a man to carry out any root-and-branch overhaul. His appointment was little more than a denial of reality – although it showed an acceptance that there would be plenty of critical fire.

If we are under attack, went the thinking of the Brazilian FA, then Dunga is our man. A snarling figure, weighed down by the apparent belief that the world was a conspiracy against him, Dunga would fight fire with fire.

Two years later, with a third of the 2018 qualifiers played, Brazil were down in sixth place, outside the qualification slots. There was real fear that the country would lose its proud record of appearing in every World Cup finals.

Dunga was under pressure. His big hope was the Rio Olympics. If he could take the team to their first football gold medal, he would shore up his position and buy himself some more time.

It might have happened. Instead, shortly before the Olympics there was an extra version of the Copa America, staged in the United States, to celebrate the centenary of the tournament.

Dunga’s team drew with Ecuador, lost to Peru and were eliminated in the group phase. The axe fell, and Corinthians coach Tite – the popular choice to have taken over in 2014 – was belatedly given the job.

Dunga captained Brazil to World Cup glory in 1994

The rest is history.

There were few changes in personnel. Paulinho, then based in China, was recalled – a controversial move that proved a resounding success. And Tite gambled on the teenage Gabriel Jesus to fill the problem position at centre-forward – and was immediately rewarded.

Those two aside, the same squad that had been at the disposal of Dunga achieved vastly different results under Tite.

A tricky qualification campaign turned into a breeze. Tite’s team won 10 games, drew two, scored 30 goals and conceded just three. And they have continued that form in warm-up friendlies against European opposition. They go to Russia with a justifiable place among the tournament favourites.

There is an obvious question here – how could one man make such a difference?

Brazil – from innovators to also-rans

The answer is twofold. It has to do not only with the undoubted merits of Tite, but also with the deficiencies of his colleagues, and of the dead end at which Brazilian football found itself.

There were two separate problems – the dangers of success and the perils of isolation.

Brazilian football was not born great. It achieved greatness as a result of a process. When they won those three World Cups in four tournaments (between 1958 and 1970) they were ahead of the field in term of preparation and tactics.

As far back as 1958, they had a huge back-up staff of doctors, a dentist, a physical preparation specialist – even a premature attempt to use a sports psychologist.

The great Mario Zagallo – a player in 1958 and 1962, coach in 1970 – nearly fell off his chair when I told him that England went to Chile for the 1962 World Cup without so much as a doctor.

And in terms of tactics, they had incorporated ideas from Uruguayan, Argentine and Hungarian coaches, put them together and come up with something new. They were pioneers of the back four.

50 Great World Cup moments: Carlos Alberto’s famous goal v Italy – 1970

When they unleashed it in 1958 – still the only time they have won a World Cup in Europe – the extra defensive cover meant they did not concede a goal until the semi-final. By 1970 they had gone further. Zagallo is happy to see that wonderful side as a pioneer of modern day 4-2-3-1.

But so much success made them lazy and complacent, inclined to believe their own myths about innate natural talent.

And as the game moved on, they were dangerously isolated. Hardly any Brazilian coaches came to work in top level European club football, and those who did make the journey failed to last long.

Brazil were caught completely off balance by the Pep Guardiola revolution of a decade ago.

Many in Brazilian football were convinced that physical evolution had made a possession-based game impossible and that the way forward was to bulk up and use quick counter-attacks down the flanks.

They were dangerously out of date – as shown all too harshly when Germany, having taken on board some of Guardiola’s ideas, kept passing their way through the 2014 Brazil side on the way to that 7-1 win.

Tite – learning lessons in Europe

The exception to Brazil’s failure to evolve and learn is Tite.

At first glance his CV might not seem to contain anything unusual. He has flitted from job to job, fired from most of them. He has never worked in Europe; his position has been that he would be unable to achieve excellence in a second language, although the 57-year-old may be softening on that point.

But in addition to mesmerising communication skills – he comes across a little like a hip priest – he has a curious mind. The key phrase of Brazil’s World Cup qualification campaign is his “I have learned how to learn”.

When he made his name at the start of the century, Tite was a 3-5-2 specialist.

Later, with Internacional, he thoroughly enjoyed working with the Argentine midfielder Andres d’Alessandro, briefly of Portsmouth, who explained to him the workings of a European 4-4-2. His appetite whetted, Tite has spent long periods in Europe studying the way the top teams play.

Tite has never coached in Europe but has studied the continent’s top sides

A big difference in comparison with South America is the way teams stay compact – and it was this that he introduced to his Corinthians side, which in 2011-12 won the Brazilian and South American titles and beat Chelsea in the Club World Cup final.

That team was known for its single-goal victories. The compact nature of the team made them difficult to play through. It was a team based on defensive solidity.

Then came more study in Europe, where Tite’s attention focused on the way the best sides achieved numerical superiority in parts of the field where they could hurt the opposition.

All of this was then applied to the Corinthians team that won the Brazilian title in 2015. Much easier on the eye than their predecessors, they were a team whose compact nature was used to facilitate its attacking possibilities – having the team close together opened up options for a pass.

And it is this tactical idea that Tite brought to the Brazilian national team.

In November 2016, after Argentina had been beaten 3-0, the highly influential former Argentina coach Cesar Luis Menotti was full of praise.

“He has brought the defensive line 20 metres higher and brought the team together,” he said. “It’s like the Brazil of 1970.”

Can Tite get the best out of Neymar?

Tite is currently everywhere in TV adverts.

Where Dunga always came across as a warrior, the current boss strikes the pose of a wise man, and one gifted with ‘look ’em straight in the eyes’ communication skills. Indeed, one critic has referred to him as “a snake charmer”.

So far, Brazil has been charmed. With the team getting its mojo back, TV ratings for World Cup qualifiers were extremely high.

And with the country spiralling through economic and political turmoil, the national team have stood as a beacon of hope.

If Tite were to stand in this year’s presidential elections he would walk his way in – at least, before the World Cup. True to style, he refuses even to joke about such a serious matter.

The coach has – without seeking it – gained the same kind of star billing as striker Neymar. Much may depend on the relationship between the two over the next few weeks.

Neymar has scored 53 goals in 83 appearances for Brazil

The current Brazil side is nowhere near as dependent on Neymar as was the case in 2014. They are much more of a coherent, cohesive, functioning team – as they proved to themselves with recent friendly victories away to Russia and Germany, achieved while Neymar was recuperating from his metatarsal injury.

Clearly, though, the talent of Neymar is a huge plus. It comes with two potential problems.

One is that his desire for individual glory may not always be in the best interests of the team; this was the case in November’s 0-0 draw with England at Wembley, where he consistently tried to do too much.

Neymar is so good, and sees things so quickly that he has a range of options. Under pressure, will he choose the right one for the team? Tite must try to ensure he does.

And he also needs to control Neymar’s occasional acts of petulance.

There are phases in the game when Neymar appears obsessed with drawing fouls. He then goes to ground very easily. The opponents become annoyed, the temperature of the game rises and Neymar can then become a victim of that temperature. In 14 qualifiers he picked up six yellow cards. Project that into the World Cup and he could easily miss a vital knockout game.

And this time, Brazil want him all the way to the end of a campaign that, they hope, will end with World Cup win number six, and their first in Europe for 60 years.

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'Snake charmer' Tite - the coach who has modernised Brazil

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World Cup Match of the Day, 9 July 2014. Argentina have just beaten the Netherlands on penalties to reach the final. But everyone is still trying to assimilate the scarcely credible result from the previous day’s semi-final.

Hosts Brazil have been thrashed 7-1 by Germany. What happens now?

“Will Brazil now want a root-and-branch overhaul of their system?” asks Mark Chapman.

“I hope so,” I replied – but feared that after a 10-day period of mourning, things would chug along much as before.

And that is how it turned out.

Another dead end with Dunga

Soon after the World Cup, Brazil made the bizarre decision to reappoint former midfielder Dunga as coach.

He had been in charge from 2006-2010. His only other coaching experience was an unsuccessful few months with Brazilian club side Internacional.

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He was not a man to carry out any root-and-branch overhaul. His appointment was little more than a denial of reality – although it showed an acceptance that there would be plenty of critical fire.

If we are under attack, went the thinking of the Brazilian FA, then Dunga is our man. A snarling figure, weighed down by the apparent belief that the world was a conspiracy against him, Dunga would fight fire with fire.

Two years later, with a third of the 2018 qualifiers played, Brazil were down in sixth place, outside the qualification slots. There was real fear that the country would lose its proud record of appearing in every World Cup finals.

Dunga was under pressure. His big hope was the Rio Olympics. If he could take the team to their first football gold medal, he would shore up his position and buy himself some more time.

It might have happened. Instead, shortly before the Olympics there was an extra version of the Copa America, staged in the United States, to celebrate the centenary of the tournament.

Dunga’s team drew with Ecuador, lost to Peru and were eliminated in the group phase. The axe fell, and Corinthians coach Tite – the popular choice to have taken over in 2014 – was belatedly given the job.

The rest is history.

There were few changes in personnel. Paulinho, then based in China, was recalled – a controversial move that proved a resounding success. And Tite gambled on the teenage Gabriel Jesus to fill the problem position at centre-forward – and was immediately rewarded.

Those two aside, the same squad that had been at the disposal of Dunga achieved vastly different results under Tite.

A tricky qualification campaign turned into a breeze. Tite’s team won 10 games, drew two, scored 30 goals and conceded just three. And they have continued that form in warm-up friendlies against European opposition. They go to Russia with a justifiable place among the tournament favourites.

There is an obvious question here – how could one man make such a difference?

Brazil – from innovators to also-rans

The answer is twofold. It has to do not only with the undoubted merits of Tite, but also with the deficiencies of his colleagues, and of the dead end at which Brazilian football found itself.

There were two separate problems – the dangers of success and the perils of isolation.

Brazilian football was not born great. It achieved greatness as a result of a process. When they won those three World Cups in four tournaments (between 1958 and 1970) they were ahead of the field in term of preparation and tactics.

As far back as 1958, they had a huge back-up staff of doctors, a dentist, a physical preparation specialist – even a premature attempt to use a sports psychologist.

The great Mario Zagallo – a player in 1958 and 1962, coach in 1970 – nearly fell off his chair when I told him that England went to Chile for the 1962 World Cup without so much as a doctor.

And in terms of tactics, they had incorporated ideas from Uruguayan, Argentine and Hungarian coaches, put them together and come up with something new. They were pioneers of the back four.

When they unleashed it in 1958 – still the only time they have won a World Cup in Europe – the extra defensive cover meant they did not concede a goal until the semi-final. By 1970 they had gone further. Zagallo is happy to see that wonderful side as a pioneer of modern day 4-2-3-1.

<!–

But so much success made them lazy and complacent, inclined to believe their own myths about innate natural talent.

And as the game moved on, they were dangerously isolated. Hardly any Brazilian coaches came to work in top level European club football, and those who did make the journey failed to last long.

Brazil were caught completely off balance by the Pep Guardiola revolution of a decade ago.

Many in Brazilian football were convinced that physical evolution had made a possession-based game impossible and that the way forward was to bulk up and use quick counter-attacks down the flanks.

They were dangerously out of date – as shown all too harshly when Germany, having taken on board some of Guardiola’s ideas, kept passing their way through the 2014 Brazil side on the way to that 7-1 win.

Tite – learning lessons in Europe

The exception to Brazil’s failure to evolve and learn is Tite.

At first glance his CV might not seem to contain anything unusual. He has flitted from job to job, fired from most of them. He has never worked in Europe; his position has been that he would be unable to achieve excellence in a second language, although the 57-year-old may be softening on that point.

But in addition to mesmerising communication skills – he comes across a little like a hip priest – he has a curious mind. The key phrase of Brazil’s World Cup qualification campaign is his “I have learned how to learn”.

When he made his name at the start of the century, Tite was a 3-5-2 specialist.

Later, with Internacional, he thoroughly enjoyed working with the Argentine midfielder Andres d’Alessandro, briefly of Portsmouth, who explained to him the workings of a European 4-4-2. His appetite whetted, Tite has spent long periods in Europe studying the way the top teams play.

<!–

A big difference in comparison with South America is the way teams stay compact – and it was this that he introduced to his Corinthians side, which in 2011-12 won the Brazilian and South American titles and beat Chelsea in the Club World Cup final.

That team was known for its single-goal victories. The compact nature of the team made them difficult to play through. It was a team based on defensive solidity.

Then came more study in Europe, where Tite’s attention focused on the way the best sides achieved numerical superiority in parts of the field where they could hurt the opposition.

All of this was then applied to the Corinthians team that won the Brazilian title in 2015. Much easier on the eye than their predecessors, they were a team whose compact nature was used to facilitate its attacking possibilities – having the team close together opened up options for a pass.

And it is this tactical idea that Tite brought to the Brazilian national team.

In November 2016, after Argentina had been beaten 3-0, the highly influential former Argentina coach Cesar Luis Menotti was full of praise.

“He has brought the defensive line 20 metres higher and brought the team together,” he said. “It’s like the Brazil of 1970.”

Can Tite get the best out of Neymar?

Tite is currently everywhere in TV adverts.

Where Dunga always came across as a warrior, the current boss strikes the pose of a wise man, and one gifted with ‘look ’em straight in the eyes’ communication skills. Indeed, one critic has referred to him as “a snake charmer”.

So far, Brazil has been charmed. With the team getting its mojo back, TV ratings for World Cup qualifiers were extremely high.

And with the country spiralling through economic and political turmoil, the national team have stood as a beacon of hope.

If Tite were to stand in this year’s presidential elections he would walk his way in – at least, before the World Cup. True to style, he refuses even to joke about such a serious matter.

The coach has – without seeking it – gained the same kind of star billing as striker Neymar. Much may depend on the relationship between the two over the next few weeks.

<!–

The current Brazil side is nowhere near as dependent on Neymar as was the case in 2014. They are much more of a coherent, cohesive, functioning team – as they proved to themselves with recent friendly victories away to Russia and Germany, achieved while Neymar was recuperating from his metatarsal injury.

Clearly, though, the talent of Neymar is a huge plus. It comes with two potential problems.

One is that his desire for individual glory may not always be in the best interests of the team; this was the case in November’s 0-0 draw with England at Wembley, where he consistently tried to do too much.

Neymar is so good, and sees things so quickly that he has a range of options. Under pressure, will he choose the right one for the team? Tite must try to ensure he does.

And he also needs to control Neymar’s occasional acts of petulance.

There are phases in the game when Neymar appears obsessed with drawing fouls. He then goes to ground very easily. The opponents become annoyed, the temperature of the game rises and Neymar can then become a victim of that temperature. In 14 qualifiers he picked up six yellow cards. Project that into the World Cup and he could easily miss a vital knockout game.

And this time, Brazil want him all the way to the end of a campaign that, they hope, will end with World Cup win number six, and their first in Europe for 60 years.

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BBC Sport – Football

'Snake charmer' Tite – the coach who has modernised Brazil was originally published on 365 Football