I was there to tell them how special they all are, how they each have special gifts and talents, and while we are each unique individuals with fingerprints, DNA, and voices, we also have this knowing that we are connected by the human spirit. That we are this one dynamic divine organism known as human beings. Connected like trees in the forest, water in the ocean, and air in the sky.
The Beauty of Children
The beauty of most children is that they already have a keen sense of how special they are, when I asked the class to fill in the blank You Are _______ they enthusiastically responded Terrific! Wonderful! Spectacular! I told the class that my word needed some oomph! compared to the descriptions they provided. How true children inherently know how special they truly are we just seem to forget as we get older.
I proceed to share my "special" talents of dribbling a basketball, standing on my head, playing the guitar, and singing a song inspired by Mattison Ave called "You Fill My Bucket". When I finished sharing my particular talent, a child would come up and proudly show their stuff. When I asked the class to share we had gymnasts, athletes, artists, lego engineers, musicians, dancers, plenty of double jointed displays, even a display of shaking eye pupils...literally! When I stood on my head, the children instinctively were concerned for my well being with yelps of "he's turning red!" I shared with the class that my new found balancing skills were a recent discovery with the practice of yoga.
Our Many Talents
As we all know we are blessed with inherent talents like Mozart and the Piano, but many others are there to be mined to be discovered. The simple act of balancing of my head was a skill I neither thought or cared about but after practicing by leaning against walls/doors (supposed benefits of blood circulating to head) I eventually was able to balance on my own. How many other latent secret talents do we all have just waiting to be discovered, and that's what I shared with the children. There are countless talents, skills, abilities just waiting to be uncovered, learned, and shared. That is the beauty, adventure, and essence of this wonderful thing called life.
A Clue
Of course, there are so many wonderful talents and paths to pursue how do we choose, how do we know which is right for us. The easy is answer is that we are not sure, but a clue is doing things we love, things we enjoy. Being open to the wonder and possibility of life, and if I try something and it's not my cup of tea, that's OK on to the next adventure. Children intuitively understand this they are willing to try, experiment, and learn new things, and in many ways we can all benefit by being childlike in our approach to life.
I love going to talk to schools and students because of course I get more out it than the children, I leave thinking that the USA and the world are in good hands with these capable bundles of joy.
The day was a warm sunny Monday, spring was in the air, and after about 40 minutes of fun the children were getting restless so I broke out the guitar and started strumming and singing "You Fill My Bucket" they started giggling because they heard the phrase many times and when I asked the children to join in we had a chorus reverberating throughout the school and hopefully the community singing "You Fill My Bucket, You Fill My Bucket!"
Fill My Bucket.mp3
With Love,
Tom Kaufmann
Coach K
tkaufmanncoaching.com
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