Meditations on God

Conscious Adaptation
We never truly know where life will take us.

As much as we are active participants in our lives, we are also along for the ride.

Our actions, decisions, and choices make up only a small fraction of our total experience.

Beyond our will, reason, and desires, there are many other forces at work on us at all times.

Whether we view these forces as fate, chance, or divine providence, we are constantly being confronted with and influenced by events, circumstances, and occurrences that are outside of our control.

To a great extent, we can neither predict nor prevent these things.

They are as real and powerful as we are.

Often, the best we can do is to adapt.

When it is clear that we are face to face with forces we can neither avoid, stop, or change, we can either choose to fight them to our own demise or we can embrace the reality and inevitability of our new circumstances and ride their momentum in the direction they take us.

A conscious decision to adapt should be seen as neither giving in nor giving up.

Adaptation is a necessary component of our evolution and nature demands that we either evolve or get out of the way of those who do.

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.

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October 21, 2020

adapt, adaptation, adjust, adjustment, change, evolution, inevitability, life, perspective, pivot, progress
Leading The Person
Leadership requires that we understand what motivates the people around us.

We have to know what they want, what they are striving towards, and whether what we want from them helps or prevents them from getting where they are ultimately going.

We need to know their internal motivations, their interests, and their goals.

We need to know why they are where they are, why they want or do not want to be there, and where they would rather be if they had the means and opportunity.

In order to motivate others to follow our lead, to assist us in our mission, and to help us to achieve our, ideally mutually beneficial, goals, we have to care about who they are, what they want, and why they want it.

And, we need them to know that we care about them and what they want.

We need them to know that we want them to be successful, that we want them to get where they are going, and that we want to help them achieve whatever goals they are striving for, even if, perhaps especially if, these things do not actually benefit us.

This is the difference between leading and managing or supervising.

Leadership requires empathy.

Without this vital component, we may be able to get others to do what we want for a while, but we will never be able to keep them on our team in the long run because their internal motivations, if they are at odds with our needs or demands, will eventually pull them away from 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.

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

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October 20, 2020
Preparing For Impermanence
When things are going very well, we must remind ourselves that this can and will change.

We do this not to be sullen or morose, but so that we may enjoy our good fortune for what it is.

It is temporary.

No one is guaranteed all good days.

Nor is everyone guaranteed all bad.

Things change.

And, they often change quickly and without warning.

That is why we must learn to embrace and enjoy the moment we are in.

Good, bad, or indifferent, this moment is what we get and what we have to work with.

Furthermore, knowing and accepting that our current circumstances, relationships, and mood will change allows us to prepare for when it does.

By understanding preparing ourselves for the fact that this moment, this velocity, and this trajectory are temporary, we give ourselves room to pivot when things change.

It is easy to be blinded by a desire for or fear of permanency.

But, neither of these feelings help us to face or prepare for the truth.

The truth is that nothing stays the same 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.

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

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October 19, 2020

change, discipline, expectations, growth, impermanence, life, preparation, transience
Listen To Your Work
“The paint is talking to you. The brush is talking to you. The canvas is talking to you. Your job is to listen to what it is saying, to follow it where it takes you, and to share what you find with others.”

—To my daughter

One morning while I was writing, my daughter sat down next to me to paint. She was making a painting for her mother and I that she did not want either of us to see until it was finished. Suddenly, she stopped painting and got very quiet.

I asked her what was wrong and she told me that her painting was ruined. Curious, I looked at what she was making and saw a big blue paint spot where she had dropped the brush on the canvas. She was quite upset because, knowing she could not undo her mistake, now the painting would never be what she wanted it to be.

After consoling her a bit, I went on to explain that mistakes are an essential component of the creative process. Sometimes the canvas, the paint, or the brush take us in a direction that is quite different from our original intention. When this happens, good artists start over, but great artists keep going.

Great artists are curious. They follow the art on the path it leads them down. They may start with an idea, but they are also open to the possibility of discovery along the way. By following the mistake, they may discover something new, exciting, and beautiful, and this process of discovery is half of the fun.

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.

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

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October 18, 2020

art, creation, creative, creativity, drawing, Inspiration, muse, music, painting, writing
Presence Now
We cannot make up for our past absence.

The best we can do is to be available now.

Be present now.

We cannot make up for lost time.

It is vanity to even try.

Time passed will never return.

This moment is here, now.

Remove expectations.

Remain open to possibilities.

Be here, now.

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.

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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October 17, 2020

absence, availability, mindfulness, openness, possibility, presence, time

Conscious Adaptation

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Leading The Person

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Preparing For Impermanence

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Listen To Your Work

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Presence Now

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