Meditations on God

But Not Unnecessarily
While we should not turn away from difficulty purely for the sake of comfort, we also should not seek out difficulty unnecessarily for the sake of itself.

Sometimes, things are difficult for no reason other than that they are difficult.

Not all difficulty is meant to be faced head on, moved through, or overcome.

Some obstacles, challenges, and hardships exist specifically to be avoided, bypassed, or circumvented.

That is their lesson.

Sometimes, the only thing to be learned from some circumstance, environment, or relationship is that we should find an better way, a more efficient path, and more effective means.

Intentionally seeking out difficulty, pain, and suffering for their own sake is not only counterproductive, but it is actually self destructive.

Difficulty for the sake of difficulty wears down our minds.

Pain for the sake of pain wears down our bodies.

Suffering for the sake fo suffering wears down our spirits.

Injuries do not make us stronger.

Sometimes, the path of less resistance is actually the better path.

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 Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.

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August 27, 2020

challenges, difficulty, injury, obstacles, pain, progress, relationships, struggles, suffering, transcendence
Choose Difficulty Over Comfort
If comfort is our standard for behavior, we cannot grow.

The essence of evolution is adaptation as a means of overcoming difficulty.

If we spend all of our time and energy avoiding difficulty, we are simultaneously denying ourselves the opportunity to grow and to change.

By choosing comfort over challenges, we are also choosing stagnation and entropy over evolution.

In a way, this can be likened to stealing from ourselves.

When comfort is the standard upon which we make our decisions, we miss out on new experiences, opportunities, and perspectives.

We never get to see what is on the other side of the challenge, obstacle, or hardship.

Instead of being avoided at all costs, difficulty should be seen as a generous teacher, received like a precious gift, and embraced as we would a loving friend.

Without facing the resistance ahead of us, learning how to meet it and overcome it, we will never know what we are truly capable of accomplishing and who we are capable of becoming.

A life of comfort is a life denied of living itself.

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 Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and 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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August 26, 2020

becoming, challenges, change, comfort, difficulty, evolution, growth, obstacles, overcoming, transcendence
Action Over Enthusiasm
Consistency will carry us through when enthusiasm lets us down.

At some point, no matter what path we are on, we will eventually find ourselves tired, frustrated, and disheartened.

This will happen with personal projects, educational pursuits, professional aspirations, and relationships.

Regardless of how enthusiastic, motivated, or driven we once were, at some point, we will struggle to want to move forward.

Our enthusiasm, like all emotions, inevitably wax and wane.

The joy and excitement we experience when things are new and going well is simply unsustainable as our circumstances, environment, and relationships evolve, and as we evolve.

Change is the constant. Our feelings about that change are not. Nor can or should we expect them to be.

If we want to thrive, we must focus on the consistency of our actions matching the consistency of change.

Enthusiasm will come back in its own time.

It is up to us to show up with or without it in the meantime.

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 Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and 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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August 25, 2020

action, change, consistency, discipline, emotions, enthusiasm, persistence, purpose, relationships, success
The Need To Be Loved
We all want to know that we are worthy of love, kindness, and respect.

We want to know that our life, our very existence, has value.

We want to know that this value is inherent to our very being, that we are deserving of affection, appreciation, and compassion simply because we are, not because of something we do or do not do, say, or have to offer.

Deep down, we want to know know that to be loved, cared for, and cared about is our birthright.

As children, we cry, gesture, and even beg for acknowledgement, attention, and validation.

We were not born able to feed, clothe, or shelter ourselves.

Nor were we born able to comfort ourselves.

This need for loving connection is as real as our need for breath itself.

If not received, even if ignored, denied, or punished, the need itself does not go away.

In fact, it is quite likely that the less love we receive, the more we actually need.

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 Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and 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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August 24, 2020

acceptance, being, care, caring, compassion, existence, kindness, love, need, respect
My Tribal Standards
I have two standards for my associations, regardless of whether they are personal or professional. The first requirement is that I like and respect you. The second that you like and respect me.

If one of these standards is not met, I find it very difficult to move forward. In my experience, there is no personal, financial, or positional gain worth having if I have to associate with people or institutions I do not like and respect and who do not also like and respect me.

This may seem overly simplistic, perhaps even naive and childish, but I have tried many different combinations of relationship in my life and this is more an explanation of my experience than of my ideology. This is not some belief I have. It is a fact of my being.

Simply put, life is too short to be wasted on relationships within which there is not a mutual sense of appreciation and values. This does not mean that we must like all things about one another nor that we agree on every issue. That is an unrealistic impossibility.

It does mean, however, that in order for me to want to give my time, my attention, and my energy to a relationship with a person, an organization, or a community, I have to first trust and respect their intentions and also know that they trust and respect mine. As Sebastian Junger said, “The easiest and most basic definition of community, of tribe, would be the group of people that you would both help feed and help defend.”

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 Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and 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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August 23, 2020

admiration, adoration, appreciation, community, family, friendships, respect, standards, tribe, tribes

But Not Unnecessarily

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Choose Difficulty Over Comfort

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Action Over Enthusiasm

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The Need To Be Loved

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My Tribal Standards

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