Meditations on God

Sustainability in Practice
A mediocre practice that we maintain is better than an exceptional practice that we quit.

Wabi-sabi street art photo by Robert Van Valkenburgh (artist unknown)

It is good to push ourselves, to try to reach beyond our capabilities, and to expand our limitations, but not if it continually burns us out. Burn out is not sustainable and a practice, by definition, must be sustainable. It is better to settle for slow, steady progress than to aim too high and continually fail.

Of course, we should set our goals and our expectations high, but it is unreasonable to believe that we will reach these goals and meet theses expectations quickly or that it will be easy. Going too fast, pushing ourselves too the edge of our capabilities too often or for too long a time, will, sooner or later, cause us to fail. When this happens, it is not because of inherent weakness on our part, but because nature demands balance.

For all of the strength and will required to push us forward, to drive us to improve, to create, to growth, and to change, is an underlying fragility. It is this actually this fragility that propels us, but it is also this fragility that is exposed when we go too far, too quickly. In order to remain consistent in our progress, we must find a sustainable pace, frequency, and rate of expansion where our strength and fragility are in balance.

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, as well as a founding member of the Severna Park and Baltimore Holistic Chamber of Commerce.

Street art photo taken by Robert Van Valkenburgh, artist unknown unless otherwise noted.

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January 10, 2020

achievement, goals, growth, improvement, maintaining, pracitce, progress, sustainability
Listen To The Person More Than The Message
We may disagree, but, if we can do so intelligently and compassionately, there is room for you in my life.

Artwork by Ana

Not everyone who disagrees with us is against us. In fact, some people actually disagree with us because they care about us and want to see us learn, grow, and open ourselves up to a new way of thinking so that we have fuller, richer lives. As long as we have surrounded ourselves with honest, caring, forward-thinking individuals, we should listen to what they have to say, even if it is in direct opposition with what we have believed up to that point.

If we love or, at the very least, respect another person and he or she disagrees with us on some important issue, we owe it to ourselves to hear them out. They may not change our minds, but the more we can learn to see the world though other peoples’ eyes, the more effective we become in our own lives. If empathy is a superpower, compassionate observation is the way we earn it.

If we can learn to listen to what is beneath the words and imagine the hopes, fears, and history that has led to this moment and this belief, we can better understand the messenger and where they are coming from. Through this, we can also better understand ourselves, and why we believe the things that we believe. By listening to the person more than the message itself, we will find that we are all a lot more similar than our beliefs, prejudices, and opinions would allow us to believe.

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, as well as a founding member of the Severna Park and Baltimore Holistic Chamber of Commerce.

Artwork by Ana, except where otherwise noted.

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January 9, 2020

beliefs, compassion, empathy, ideas, opinions, understanding
Pick Your Head Up And Look Around
If you want to see more beauty in the world, start by walking, with your head up, and your eyes open.

Icy Windshield Photo by Robert Van Valkenburgh

Our outlook on life is greatly affected by the input we receive on a daily basis. If we feed our eyes and our minds conflict, negativity, and divisiveness, we will begin to perceive the world as a place made up predominantly of this type of ugliness and even evil. Even the most pure, innocent, and uplifting experiences will be tainted by our cynical worldview.

Evil, violence, and hatred are, of course, very real. They are not, however, all that is. There is more to life than what we see, read, and hear from those who feed off of our engagement with the baser aspects of humanity.

If we are growing tired and weary of all of the negativity in our lives, we must start first by looking elsewhere. We must actively seek out that which is beautiful, those people, places, and things that uplift us, that inspire us to smile, and that make us hopeful about our lives, our relationships, and our future. A good place to start is by lifting our heads, taking a walk, and merely looking around.

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, as well as a founding member of the Severna Park and Baltimore Holistic Chamber of Commerce.

Icy windshield photo taken by Robert Van Valkenburgh.

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January 8, 2020

beauty, hearing, Inspiration, listening, observing, outlook, seeing, walking, worldview
Be Generous First
Sometimes the shortest path to getting what you want is to help others get what they want.

Wabisabi Street Art photo by Robert Van Valkenburgh (artist unknown)

We all need support and companionship to some degree or another as we move through this life. In spite of what some of us think or say, we cannot really and truly thrive alone and in isolation. We need other people and they need us, especially if we are striving for progress, not merely survival.

Once we realize that we have to work together with others in order to create a better life for ourselves, we must begin thinking about what exactly the best way to do this is. Simply put, the road to mutually beneficial relationships cannot be based on selfishness or even self-interest alone. Our relationships must be rooted in an attitude of abundance.

In a healthy relationship, we cannot take more than we need, but we also cannot give more than we have because neither of these approaches is sustainable. This does not mean that all healthy relationships are perfectly balanced or fair because they never will be. What it means is that if we want to be in a relationship of generosity and integrity, we have to start there ourselves by being the ones who behave that way 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

Street art photo taken by Robert (artist unknown)

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January 7, 2020

generosity, integrity, isolation, relationships, selfishness
Building Or Destroying Our Future
Every relationship, every interaction we have, becomes the foundation for our future.

We cannot live in spite of others, successfully, forever. Along the path, at some point, for some reason, we are going to truly need other people’s help. When this occurs, if, up to this point, our only contribution to our relationships has been to take what we want from them, without giving anything back to them, we may be sorely disappointed by the reactions others have toward our needs and wants.

Even if we do not see the immediate results of it, the energy we create in our relationships is reciprocal. That which we put in or take out comes back to us in kind, perhaps not immediately, maybe not even with the same exact people or in the same circumstances, but, with every relationship in our lives, we are either building or destroying our futures. Some relationships fall apart through no fault of our own, but we are judged, in the long run, by our intentions and our efforts.

If we give freely of ourselves, if we are generous, if we are kind, if we are gracious, sincere, and honest, we add integrity, support, and strength to who we will become. Conversely, if we are careless, selfish, cruel, and spiteful, we will find, eventually, that we are cold, alone, and exposed to the elements, without support or shelter. The good news is that we get to choose the path we take toward our future, every moment of every day.

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, as well as a founding member of the Severna Park and Baltimore Holistic Chamber of Commerce.

Artwork by Ana, except where otherwise noted.

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January 6, 2020

caring, foundation, future, generosity, giving, graciousness, greed, integrity, relationships, selfishness

Sustainability in Practice

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Listen To The Person More Than The Message

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Pick Your Head Up And Look Around

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Be Generous First

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Building Or Destroying Our Future

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