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"In the present moment, no past achievement has any bearing, but we perpetually bring ourselves into the here and now; we are our constant companion. By carving the ineffable nature of my soul, rather than simply pursuing the "W," I am able to bring all of my past accomplishments with me into the present. They do hold bearing on today, not because of what I have done, but because of who I have become. This is what matters."
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"The best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment."

"Whatever the depth of our darkness, God navigated it eons before it was dark. And whatever the duration of our nights, God was there long before it ever turned to night. Therefore, despite our frequent feelings to the contrary, there is no place we might be where God was not lovingly waiting for us an eternity before we got there."

"Since we cling to our hope in the future, we do not focus our energies and capabilities on the present moment."

"Poised Positioning Be mindful of how you use your body to communicate. Be fully present in the moment. Be thoughtful and gracious in your actions. Be fluid and elegant in your movements. Express flow-walk in freedom and spontaneity. Develop an unshakeable sense of authentic inner confidence and certainty. Develop a deep respect for others. Move slower and more deliberately. Walk in integrity, class, and modesty. Smile kindly and laugh softly. Become a student of manners and etiquette."

"The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion. The most important person is always the person you are with, who is right before you."
Explore more quotes by Chris Matakas

"The best indicator of a man's philosophy is not what he reads or says, but the way in which he lives his life, the way in which he acts."

"We are the estranged orphans of our nations and tribes, and we now bear the weight not of survival of the group but of personal identity."

"We see that the vast majority of our suffering is needless, and simply arises from the misidentification with our thinking mind."

"Jiu Jitsu gives me an ideal to strive toward. Technical mastery lies on an infinite continuum and completion of this skill is impossible. Every time I train I have something that I can improve upon, and this will hold true for each and every training session that lies between me and my grave."

"Your potential for growth is directly proportionate to the degree to which you are willing to make mistakes."

"After I received my blue belt, I soon recognized that the belts were simply an external representation of an inner experience, and that they mattered little compared to the person I was becoming."

"I wanted to get to the most essential aspect of my being, and look around for a while. I wanted to explore what I am in my most basic self. I wanted to chip away at all of the nonsense I have acquired through my twenty-nine years on this earth. I wanted to find truth. Thoreau went to the woods. I went to the mats. Jiu Jitsu has peeled the veil of daily life, and has shown me what lies beyond the curtain. We willingly accept the chains that circumstance forces upon us, and we grow to find comfort in them. We attach various fetters of day-to-day living to our being, and we do so with a smile. We accept these constraints for they come in the way of comfort. We accept conformity for it appears the path of least resistance. We strive toward the middle, and we run from ourselves."

"The rare opportunity to exist, no matter how brief, is worth the pain left in the wake of its disappearance."
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