Meditations on God

Boundaries of Courage
If you don’t maintain your boundaries and someone else steps over them, it may not be their fault.

It is our responsibility to know ourselves and where our boundaries are. This is one facet of having integrity. Integrity is not only about what we do, but about what we allow and tolerate into our lives.

If we constantly find ourselves feeling victimized, taken advantage of, or overwhelmed with responsibilities that we do not want or cannot live up to, we may have issues with setting healthy boundaries for ourselves. Resentment is a sign that we have accepted behavior that we actually, deep down, find unacceptable. There are three layers of courage required in order to reverse this pattern in our lives.

The first layer of courage involves self appraisal. If we cannot be honest with ourselves, we cannot be honest with others. We must next have the courage to be vulnerable and to stand up for ourselves and what we will or will not tolerate from others. Finally, we must have the courage to do this all with love and kindness, toward both ourselves and those around us, so that we are not the ones crossing boundaries.

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

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…
October 27, 2019

boundaries, courage, kindness, resentment, tolerance, vulnerability
Presence and Participation
Time is infinite, but ours is not.

Time is not on our side. It is either dragging us through life or we are pushing back against it, but it does not stop. It does not slow down. It does not wait for us to be ready.

We can not make more time. We can not make up for lost time. We can not buy time.

Our time here is what it is. It is not guaranteed and it will pass more quickly than we imagined, but this moment is ours. We can choose to waste our it and let it pass us by or we can utilize our it and do something worthwhile with it.

It is up to us to make the most of the small amount of time that we are given. We can maximize it or we can squander it, but we cannot change it. Our only hope is to be present and to participate.

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

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…
October 26, 2019

be here now, be present, carpe diem, efficiency, infinity, presence, seize the day, time
Greatness Through Imperfection
Through our weaknesses we find our strength and through our flaws we find our grace.

We are not worthy of all that we are capable and yet we are worthy of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. We are all flawed, broken, and weak in some way. Yet, in spite of this, or perhaps because of this, we are also perfect vessels for a unique kind of greatness that no one else can achieve besides us.

It is that which makes us imperfect that makes us unique. Our imperfections give us our perspective and our character. Viewed in this way, our flaws, idiosyncrasies, and weaknesses have the potential to become our strength, the platform off of which we reach for greatness.

In order to achieve all that we are capable of, we must start with knowledge of self. This means knowing our flaws, knowing that we are imperfect and that we do not inherently deserve greatness. We can, however, earn it.

When presented with the opportunity to do something great, to become someone great, we prove our worth through our deeds. With knowledge of our own weaknesses, comes humility and graciousness. With humility and graciousness comes an unshakable confidence that allows us to earn and accept our greatness by behaving greatly.

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

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…
October 25, 2019

achievement, flaws, graciousness, greatness, humility, imperfection, strength, weakness
The Moment To Act
Inspiration is inconvenient.

Inspiration doesn’t wait until we are in front of a canvas, an instrument, a keyboard, or our training partner. It shows up when it shows up. We can set up conditions that give us more opportunity to receive inspiration and to act on it when it arises in us, but we cannot control it.

Inspiration is both inconvenient and fleeting. It doesn’t care if we are ready. It doesn’t care if we don’t have time. It shows up when it is ready and, if we are not prepared to receive it, it will disappear as quickly as it came.

When inspiration, ability, and opportunity all present themselves at exactly the same moment, we must act. The stars may never align like this again. If we hesitate, if we stop to think about it, to try to figure it out, to intellectualize it, or to make excuses as to why we can’t or shouldn’t, it will pass us by.

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

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…
October 24, 2019

action, Inspiration, muse, opportunity, timing
Growth Requires Caring
Apathy guarantees atrophy.

There is no such thing as standing still. There is no true idle mode. We are either actively learning, growing, and improving or we are physically, intellectually, and spiritually regressing, i.e. dying.

The surest way to ensure our early demise in some aspect of our life, aside from intentional self sabotage, is apathy. We cannot simply behave as if we don’t care about some aspect of our life without that area of our life suffering, and without us suffering as the direct result. Where there is no caring, there is no attention and, where there is no attention, there is atrophy.

Indifference is not neutral. It is malignant. Aggressive indifference of the “I don’t give a bleep” variety is not only malignant, but is also metastasize into other areas of our lives and relationships. Everything is interconnected and apathy cannot be compartmentalized.

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

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…
October 23, 2019

apathy, caring, entropy, growth, learning, self improvement

Boundaries of Courage

Share this:

Presence and Participation

Share this:

Greatness Through Imperfection

Share this:

The Moment To Act

Share this:

Growth Requires Caring

Share this: