Cultivate peace in your own heart
Before you attempt
To make peace in the world
Trying to change others
Before you have been changed
Is like going on a journey
Without a map
WITHOUT A MAP
By Robert Van Valkenburgh
Meditations of a Gentle Warrior
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Start your day telling yourself the truth.
As you go throughout your day, you will be bombarded with opinions and agendas.
Most of what you see and hear is intended to benefit someone else’s interests and not your own.
Much of it will be simply untrue.
By starting your day telling yourself something true, you set your bearings in the direction you want to go.
There will be plenty of distractions and surprises, but stay the course.
If you find yourself going astray, remind yourself of what you know to be true and use that to guide you back in the right direction.
GUIDED BY TRUTH
By Robert Van Valkenburgh
Meditations of a Gentle Warrior
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To contact me, to see what else I’m up to, or to read my longer writings, visit robertvanvalkenburgh.com
Be careful not to view yourself through the eyes of others.
It is okay to be sensitive to what those around you feel.
But your experience of life is uniquely your own.
What you think and what you feel is as real and important as what others think and feel.
Do not let what other people think about you, or what you think they think about you, alter your course.
You have to know yourself, love yourself, and be yourself in spite of outside influences.
In the end, no one looks back at their life wishing they had cared more about what others thought.
You get to choose how you feel about this.
You do not have to take it personally.
It does not have to be perceived as a slight against you.
What others do does not have to concern you or bother you.
It probably has nothing to do with you.
Most people are thinking about themselves, not about you.
But what others think about you is none of your business anyway.
You are responsible for your own thoughts, attitudes, and actions.
Do not let what others think, say, or do determine your fate.
Choose your own path and make your own way.
With the right attitude and the right focus, and with your actions aligned toward these, the right people will accompany you along the way.
Our values give us our vision.
They guide our decisions and give purpose to our actions.
Without a clear understanding of our own values, we are essentially lost, wandering aimlessly through life with no direction.
With a clear understanding of our values, however, our bearing comes into focus, our footing become firmer, and obstacles become opportunities.
By Robert Van Valkenburgh
Meditations on God 