“People don’t buy books. They buy the time they think they will have to read them.” -Henry Rollins
There are only twenty-four hours in the day. After eating, sleeping, working, and tending to whatever other obligations we have, there are very few left over for what we call ‘free time.’ Given the limited amount of free time that we have, it is crucially important that we do not squander it.
What we consume, not just physically, but mentally becomes who we are. It becomes grist for the mill of our creative minds. It has the power to open our hearts and our minds, to inspire us, and to connect pathways in us that will lead us down amazing, beautiful roads of thought and creation, but, chosen poorly, it also has the power to dull our senses, to block our creativity, and to steal our imaginations.
Every choice we make with regards to how we spend our time, and what we consume within that time, either brings us closer to or farther away from who we are capable of being. Choosing wisely that which we feed our minds is one way to give ourselves a head start in the direction of becoming our best selves. If we want to increase our creative output, we must choose more intentionally the quality and quantity of our creative input.
Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.
Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as well as a founding member of the Severna Park and Baltimore Holistic Chamber of Commerce.
Artwork by Ana, except where otherwise noted.
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