“Please believe me. I’m real. No, really. It happened. It hurt.”-Amanda Palmer, ‘The Art of Asking’ Bullying is a violation. It is an assault on a person’s mind, body, or emotions, an assault on a person’s boundaries and willingness to participate. It is willful antagonism, provocation, mockery and harassment. Bullying is the act of seeing…
Author: Robert Van Valkenburgh
Co-Founder of Kogen Dojo of Severna Park and Taikyoku Mind & Body
Leading Is The Opposite Of Easy
It is always leadership’s fault and we are all leadership. We all experience situations, circumstances, and even relationships in our lives that we wish were better than they are, that we want to see improved, and which, through some positive change, would enhance our lives exponentially. Each time we experience these, we have choices to…
Creating Change Requires Risk
Some ideas are worth pursuing and some are not, but there is no way to know the difference without trying. By definition, an idea cannot be great without its potential to create some kind of change. Change is a risky proposition because change requires movement and, in order for movement to occur, friction, resistance, and…
Love Is Often Inconvenient
We all deserve to be loved, to be seen, and to be heard, maybe not for who we are, but for who we could be if given the opportunity. We are all imperfect beings. We are flawed, frail, weak, and broken in some way or another. Beyond or beneath these shortcomings and failings, even in…
To Fight Or To Make Peace
A friend of mine used to be a bouncer at a pub. One day, the pub owner called him into his office and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to let you go.” My friend said, “I don’t understand. I win every fight that I get into.” The pub owner replied, “That’s the…