Meditations on God

Meant For Us
Our focus should be on the steps we must take in order to get where we are going.

Everyone’s path is different.

It is okay to stop along the way for enjoyment, observation, and inspiration, but if we get too distracted by what others are doing, where they are in life, or what they have, we will miss out on what is meant for us.

Comparison is sometimes a useful tool, but taken too far, it leads to envy, jealousy, and self pity.

Our lives should not be measured using the lives of others as the standard.

There is too much out there for us if we dedicate ourselves to seeking it out to worry about others.

‘Meant For Us’ by Robert Van Valkenburgh

HOLISTIC BUDO: As in Life, so too in Budo. As in Budo, so too in Life.
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July 21, 2022

envy, jealousy, meaning, path, purpose, self pity
Exercising Empathy
Before getting upset with someone who we perceive to have wronged us, we should ask ourselves if we would have behaved the way they had if we were in their position.

It is easy to criticize others for the decisions they make or the stances they take.

But their circumstances may have given them no other reasonable choice.

Or, the decision they made may have been the best one given the options they had.

We truly cannot know all of the things influencing others or the forces acting on them.

Even if we disagree with them, we should pause to reflect on their position.

What we perceive as maliciousness, apathy, or ill will may well be our misunderstanding.

Even if we are justified to be perturbed, this exercise in empathy is worth the effort.

Empathy is always worth the effort.

‘Exercising Empathy’ by Robert Van Valkenburgh

HOLISTIC BUDO: As in Life, so too in Budo. As in Budo, so too in Life.
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July 19, 2022

budo, compassion, empathy, life, understanding
Habitual Change
Positive change, if it is going to stick, must become a daily habit.

We have to practice the things we want to be better at.

And we must do so, quite often, regardless of immediate outcome.

Positive change takes time.

It takes effort.

And it takes dedication.

This is not an overnight matter.

It can be a slow, arduous process.

If we want to facilitate and benefit from positive change in our lives and the lives of those around us, we must be willing to invest daily effort, in the form of new, healthier habits, in the direction of that change.

The alternative is entropy.

‘Habitual Change’ by Robert Van Valkenburgh

HOLISTIC BUDO: As in Life, so too in Budo. As in Budo, so too in Life.
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July 18, 2022

change, growth, habits, healthy lifestyle, positive change
Changing Values
We prove what is important to us by how we choose to spend our time, energy, and attention.

We may claim that we value something, but if we constantly ignore it, put it off, or place our priorities elsewhere, our actions prove otherwise.

This also means that we are able to change our values by changing how we spend our time, energy, and attention.

If we want to live according to better values, we must take better actions.

It is easier to change our minds by changing our actions than it is to change our actions simply by changing our minds.

‘Changing Values’ by Robert Van Valkenburgh

HOLISTIC BUDO: As in Life, so too in Budo. As in Budo, so too in Life.
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July 17, 2022

actions, budo, change, goals, life, priorities, values
Communicating Boundaries
If we do not accept our limitations, we cannot expect anyone else to either.

In order to set boundaries around our limitations, we must first acknowledge and admit them to ourselves.

This is not easy to do.

We simultaneously believe ourselves capable of much more and much less than our true potential allows for.

This miscalculation of our abilities makes it difficult to understand our limitations.

Quite often, we have to push ourselves, or others have to push us, beyond our limitations in order for us to know what they are.

Through this sometimes painful process, we discover that some limitations are meant to be pushed and others are not.

Those limitations we find to be fixed, not flexible, become our boundaries.

Once we acknowledge, admit, and accept these boundaries, we must protect them.

This will require communication.

‘Communicating Boundaries’ by Robert Van Valkenburgh

HOLISTIC BUDO: As in Life, so too in Budo. As in Budo, so too in Life.
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July 16, 2022

boundaries, communication, limitations

Meant For Us

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Exercising Empathy

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Habitual Change

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Changing Values

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Communicating Boundaries

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