Meditations on God

The Desire To Do Good
Good intentions alone may not be enough, but they are a better starting point than the alternative.

When we talk about someone’s good intentions, it is usually a way of easing the pain of disappointment, saying that, in spite of some negative outcome, at least the person in question means well.

Wanting to do good is not how good works are accomplished.

Desire and intention are never as powerful as action.

As such, good intentions are often dismissed as being ineffectual sentiments used to excuse poor behavior and failed, or lack of, action.

Of course, positive action toward some worthwhile goal is more desirable than simply wanting to do good.

Still, wanting to do good and falling short of our ideal is far better than never having wanted to do good at all.

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.

Photo by Robert Van Valkenburgh. Artwork by Ana.

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.
Share this:
X
Facebook
Like Loading…
June 28, 2020

action, best intentions, desire, faith without works, good intentions, good will, intention, intentions, works
It Is Better To Be Better
If we want to be heard, we must first stop making noise.

Distance and time are no longer barriers to communication. Distance has become irrelevant and the time between putting a message into the world and having that message received has condensed down to nearly an instant.

The new barrier to communication is noise.

Everyone in the world with an internet connection has the potential to be a public speaker. This makes the public mediascape a very noisy place.

There are a near infinite number of forces, some malignant and some benign, vying for our digital attention in any given moment.

With so many people talking, posting, commenting, and sharing, actually being heard when we have something to say can be quite difficult and even frustrating.

If silence is not an option, we essentially have two choices. We can try to be louder than everyone else or we can try to be better than everyone else.

The thing to realize with regards to the former strategy is that it is also the more obvious and easier of the two to attempt. Because of this, many, many more people, organizations, and corporations are also trying the same thing and we are all but guaranteed to be outnumbered and out-funded.

The latter strategy, on the other hand, while it may seem much more difficult to attempt and to pull off, may not actually be. The reason for this is quite simple. There is a lot less competition in that realm of better than there is in the realm of louder. Less competition means less noise.

If we want to be heard, our goal should be to be better not to be louder.

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.

If you found this post helpful or meaningful in some way, please feel free to Share, Comment, and Subscribe below.
Share this:
X
Facebook
Like Loading…
June 27, 2020

achievement, competition, creation, creative, creativity, innovation, noise, priorities, quality, social media, success
A World Of Opportunity
Simply because you agree with something does not mean it is right.

One of the great tragedies of our modern age is the ease with which we are able to find others, often masses of perfect strangers, who agree with us when we are wrong.

In the past, humans were confined by geography and technology to a small group of close-knit friends, family, and community members with whom we either shared beliefs or were labeled as rebels, troublemakers, or heretics.

Diversity of thought, belief, and behavior was seen as a threat to the solidarity of the group and, in extreme cases, being perceived as an outlier would result in being cast out of the community or worse.

Modern travel and technology has allowed us to see a whole world of people, beliefs, and customs quite different from our own. It has given us direct or indirect access to a seemingly limitless pool of information, ideas, and data.

Some of us use this access as a means of educating ourselves, expanding our horizons, and broadening our lives to be more open, inclusive, and compassionate with regards to others’ perspectives, beliefs, and cultures.

Many more of us, it seems, have used technology as a means of self-hypnosis by way of confirmation bias. We actively seek out, or are sought out by, others with whom we agree and through whom we reinforce our beliefs and shut ourselves off to the possibility of being wrong.

The greatest opportunity the world has ever seen for coming together, for seeing past our differences, and for uniting for the common good of all of humanity, has been squandered and weaponized for the sake of prejudice, conflict, and intellectual-emotional isolationism.

We can do better, but we must start with empathy toward those with whom we disagree.

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.

If you found this post helpful or meaningful in some way, please feel free to Share, Comment, and Subscribe below.
Share this:
X
Facebook
Like Loading…
June 26, 2020

belief, bias, community, compassion, confirmation bias, empathy, family, friends, open mindedness, perspective, prejudice, travel
The Path Not Yet Considered
Leadership, by definition, is an unpopular opinion.

It is impossible to take the lead by conforming to public opinion, by acquiescing to a perceived consensus, or by trying to be popular instead of right.

Leadership requires that we break away from what has already been done, what is being done, or what is obvious to everyone else as the next, most obvious step in what needs to be done.

Leadership is an inherently rebellious act. It is not merely the road less taken, but the road not yet seen, not yet imagined, and not yet cleared of the brush and the bramble.

Leadership is a new idea, stance, position, or direction, not for its own sake, but for the sake of all who would benefit. Leadership is never selfish.

New does not necessarily mean better, however. In fact, in order to have an idea that is both new and good, we must first have a lot of ideas that are new and bad.

A lot of failure goes into one single success, but therein lies the inherent risk of leadership.

Leadership is the willingness to fail at something new with the hope that it is also better, but with the honesty and humility to accept when it is not and then to start over.

New and popular are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but, when they are the same, it is all but guaranteed that new came first.

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.

If you found this post helpful or meaningful in some way, please feel free to Share, Comment, and Subscribe below.
Share this:
X
Facebook
Like Loading…
June 25, 2020

consensus, creativity, innovation, leader, leadership, leading, popularity, rebellion, revolutionary, selfishness, service
The Lessons Of Youth
One of the most powerful and long-lasting lessons of my childhood came from being required to do chores around the house before being allowed to go outside to play with my friends.

As parents, we want the best for our children. We want them to be kind, decent, and successful. And, we want to provide them with the support, the lessons, and the values that will give them the best chance to be these things.

This is no easy task, however. It requires not only time, energy, and presence, but also a great deal of persistence, insistence, and patience with regards to things that they do not yet understand as being good for them or the family as a whole.

It is difficult to know, of all of the knowledge, morals, and skills that we try to instill in our children as they grow up, which will actually take hold, which will make a difference in their character and their lives, and which are worth the effort and the struggle it often takes to make even a little bit of noticeable progress.

The truth is that everything is a lesson. Every moment is a teachable moment. Every task, every activity, and every interaction is an exchange of information. Whether we know it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not, and whether we like it or not, every gesture, attitude, and behavior is being observed, absorbed, and processed. It all means something and it all counts.

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.

If you found this post helpful or meaningful in some way, please feel free to Share, Comment, and Subscribe below.
Share this:
X
Facebook
Like Loading…
June 24, 2020

childhood, children, education, learning, life lessons, morality, morals, parent, parenthood, parenting, teaching, values

The Desire To Do Good

Share this:

It Is Better To Be Better

Share this:

A World Of Opportunity

Share this:

The Path Not Yet Considered

Share this:

The Lessons Of Youth

Share this: