Meditations on God

Moving Toward Fear
Our fears grow stronger when ignored or denied.

They do not resolve themselves.

They require our attention and our effort.

They must be faced head on.

If we are to overcome our fears, we must take action.

We must move toward them.

We must challenge them.

We must challenge ourselves.

Even this does not guarantee that our fears will go away, however.

Our fears are ours.

They belong to us.

They are part of who we are, part of our history, and part of the story we tell ourselves about the world around us and our place within it.

They did not come to us, nor will they leave us, overnight.

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

Follow Robert Van Valkenburgh and Holistic Budo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.

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January 5, 2021

action, bravery, courage, fear, vulnerability
Offering Comfort
When we see that someone is vulnerable and in pain, we have a choice to make.

We can either choose to ignore them, comfort them, or attack them in their moment of weakness.

It may seem obvious which choice will lead to the most good for that person, but life does not always provide us with simple choices.

With every decision we make, we have to contend with our personal histories, our prejudices, our fears, and our desires.

These blur our vision and skew our perceptions.

They make it difficult to think clearly.

And, sometimes they make us choose and act poorly.

Still, the choice is ours to make.

Whichever decision we make will change someone’s life for better or for worse.

In fact, that someone may actually be 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 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

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.
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January 4, 2021

change, comfort, compassion, empathy
Waiting With Ourselves
There is not enough time.

Those of us who are driven to act by whatever mysterious forces that are residing within us are acutely aware of this fact.

This is especially true when we are asked to or made to wait.

Waiting can be painful.

It can seem like punishment.

It can feel torturous.

And yet, waiting has its lessons.

It can teach us a lot about ourselves, our relationships, and our lives.

It can show us where we have previously been too hasty or not not decisive enough.

It can reveal our weaknesses and our strengths.

Above all else, waiting forces us to live with ourselves, for better or worse.

When there is nowhere for us to go, there we are.

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

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.
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January 3, 2021
Choosing Encouragement
Encouragement changes lives.

Discouragement does as well.

Both are tools.

As such, we get to choose which we will use.

We get to decide who we want to be to and for others.

And, we get to decide who we want to help others become through our influence.

Every decision matters.

Every choice matters.

Every interaction matters.

If we want a better, more positive world, this simple distinction between encouragement and discouragement is a good place to start.

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

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.
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January 2, 2021

change, choice, decisions, discouragement, encouragement
Working Toward Happiness
We can either wait to be happy or we can take action toward that result.

Neither choice guarantees us success.

We may fail either way.

The difference is that waiting is almost certain to result in failure.

While action, on the other hand, at least gives us a fighting chance.

Happiness, as it turns out, rarely ever comes to us on its own.

It must be sought and worked for.

In this way, it is like everything else worth having in life.

We must be careful that we do not allow ourselves to become so immersed in the seeking itself, however, that we miss our target altogether.

Happiness is not actually that far away.

In fact, most of the work we need to do in order to find it is within ourselves.

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

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.
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January 1, 2021

happiness, seeking, the journey, the path, work

Moving Toward Fear

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Offering Comfort

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Waiting With Ourselves

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Choosing Encouragement

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Working Toward Happiness

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