That which is never tried is guaranteed to be impossible.
It is much less difficult, in the short term at least, to merely do what is in front of us, to take what is handed to us, and to accept the results of that as our fate. Fate excuses us from responsibility and from action. Fate excuses us from pushing our boundaries and the boundaries of previously existing possibilities.
The problem with fate, however, is that, when we excuse ourselves from participating in and shaping our own destinies, other forces take on that role for us. Something or someone will mold and shape our lives and the world we inhabit if we do not. By abdicating responsibility to fate, we put our free will and our futures in the hands of others who do not, who can not, care about our well-beings, our wishes, and our dreams as much as we do.
As creative beings, our true fate is to be something, to do something, to make something with intention. Our destiny is to make our intentions manifest, to bring them life, to put our vision into the world, and to challenge impossibility by trying something new, by being something new, and by creating something new. Our fate is to live, actively, intentionally, and impossibly.
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.
If you found this post helpful or meaningful in some way, please feel free to Share, Comment, and Subscribe below.