If we do not find them first, our fears and insecurities will find us.
We cannot ignore them, avoid them, or deny them forever.
The harder we try to hide them or hide from them, the stronger they become.
They are empowered by the darkness.
To reject them is to reject a part of ourselves.
To deny them is to deny a part of ourselves.
To oppress them is to oppress a part of ourselves.
We cannot run from them because they are in us.
Wherever we go, they go with us, chasing us, haunting us, and waiting for us.
We will have to face them eventually.
It will either be on our terms and our timeline or on theirs.
If we do not choose to seek them out, to uncover them, and to challenge them, they will make that choice for us.
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.
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