We never know where the effects of our influence will end.
Every word, deed, and interaction ripples outward beyond our reach and beyond our control.
This happens whether we are conscious of it or not.
It happens whether we want it to or not.
For better or worse, once it leaves us, our influence belongs to those affected by it.
We cannot take it back.
It is imperative, therefore, that what we leave others with is something we are proud of, something we can hold our head high about, and something we are happy to have attached to our legacy forever.
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 Kogen Dojo Self Defense Academy where he teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.*
*Robert Van Valkenburgh’s black and white photography can be seen at My Darkness To Light
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