Meditations on God

Practicing Improvement
Improvement does not simply require practice.

It is a practice in itself.

We have to work on working on ourselves, our lives, and our relationships.

But, the more we do, the easier it will be to make progress.

This is true for a while anyway.

As we move past some of our grosser and more obvious defects and shortcomings, however, things begin to get a bit more complicated.

The further we progress, the more we need to dig into and fine tune some of our deepest flaws, fears, and most longly held beliefs and behaviors.

This is not an easy endeavor, nor will it happen overnight.

We have spent years or even decades becoming the way we are now.

It will take a lot of time, a lot of effort, and, most likely, a lot of pain and struggle to change these parts of who we are.

It will take a lot of practice.

And, we will probably need help.

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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December 10, 2020

change, growth, improvement, practice, progress
On Self Kindness
We should be kinder to ourselves.

We do not need to be pampered, coddled, or spoiled.

But, we do need to leave ourselves room to breathe and to grow.

Most likely, we are doing our best.

Even when we are not, we know it.

There is no use in being overly critical of ourselves for our mistakes, failings, and shortcomings.

Doing so does not change what we have or have not done.

Self-criticism for the sake of self-criticism does not lead us to the change we wish to make in ourselves, our lives, or our relationships.

It keep us stuck in our past and in our errors.

If we wish to grow and change for the better, we need to offer ourselves the same patience, compassion, and forgiveness we would a close friend.

As long as we are well-intended, if we have done our best to right any wrongs along the way, and our future actions reflect this, we should move forward knowing that we have done what we could, knowing that the lesson itself is part of the journey.

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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December 9, 2020

change, compassion, forgiveness, growth, kindness, patience, progress
Not All Difficulty Is Necessary
Life is difficult enough without us making it more difficult than it needs to be.

This does not mean we should avoid difficulty.

Not only is that impossible, but it is also impractical if we are dedicated to growth and progress in ourselves, our lives, and our relationships.

We should, however, do our best to avoid unnecessary difficulty.

Unnecessary difficulty does not lead to growth or progress.

In fact, it leads us in the opposite direction.

We must be careful, therefore, to not add unnecessary stressors, burdens, or commitments to our already full lives.

We likely have enough of these that are necessary.

We do not need to add more that are unnecessary.

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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December 8, 2020

burdens, commitments, difficulty, growth, necessity, progress, troubles
Our Responsibility
We each have an essential role to play in the lives of the people around us.

It may not be the role we want or would have asked for if we had the choice.

But, it is ours nonetheless.

We can choose to either accept it and embrace our responsibility or we can try to deny it and abdicate our responsibility.

Denial and abdication do not remove responsibility, however.

They simply leave it for someone else to take on in our place.

The burden of responsibility exists whether we accept it or not.

We must ask ourselves, then, do we want to lift the people who rely on us up or do we want to let them down?

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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December 7, 2020

community, family, life, purpose, relationships, responsibility
Plans Change
Plans are meant to change.

They are just an outline.

The details are filled in by life’s circumstances.

We can try to mitigate all risk and cover all contingencies, but we cannot account for every possible variable, especially variables that are impossible to predict.

Our success is determined by our ability to adapt to the reality we face once we begin taking action.

If we have planned well, we have left ourselves room to adjust.

If we have planned well, pivoting is part of our plan.

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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December 6, 2020

adapting, adjustment, change, pivoting, planning, plans

Practicing Improvement

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On Self Kindness

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Not All Difficulty Is Necessary

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Our Responsibility

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Plans Change

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