The target

 “The target is the objective to be reached. It was chosen by the archer and though it is a long way off, we cannot blame it when we fail to hit it. In this lies the beauty of the way of the bow: you can never excuse yourself by saying that your opponent was stronger than you. You were the one who chose the target and you are responsible for it. The target can be larger, smaller, to the right or the left, but you always have to stand before it, respect it and bring it closer mentally. Only when it is at the very end of your arrow should you release the bowstring.
If you view the target as the enemy, you might well hit the target, but you will not improve anything inside yourself. You will go through life trying only to place an arrow in the center of a piece of paper or wood, which is absolutely pointless. And when you are with other people, you will spend your time complaining that you never do anything interesting. That is why you must choose your target, do your best to hit it, and always regard it with respect and dignity; you need to know what it means and how much effort, training, and intuition were required on your part.” – Tetsuya on the target (from The Archer by Paulo Coelho)