Sometimes all we need is the knowledge that someone else is willing to help us in order to gather the strength with which to help ourselves.
It is important to know that we are not alone, that we have support, and that we have something or someone to fall back on if and when we fail.
This knowledge is powerful.
It gives us courage, strength, and ambition.
It affords us the opportunity to take risks we may have otherwise avoided, to test the waters on new ideas, adventures, and opportunities, and to pursue our dreams.
If we have such support, it must not be taken for granted or taken advantage of, however.
Support must be nurtured, cared for, and respected as the precious gift that it is.
Implicit in this is a mutual sense of trust.
As with all trust, our desires, intentions, and actions must be honorable in order to earn it, maintain it, and do it justice.
We are not owed this.
Our good fortune should be at the forefront of our thoughts, acknowledged and honored with gratitude through action.
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.
All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.
Follow Robert Van Valkenburgh and Holistic Budo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.
If you found this post helpful or meaningful in some way, please feel free to Share, Comment, and Subscribe below.