Thank You

Gratitude

A simple yet powerful daily habit is to express gratitude for everything in your life.  An easy prayer, mantra, expression, or meditation is the words Thank You.  

We can begin each day by saying Thank You for another day on this beautiful planet, for the honor to participate in the wonderful dance called life.  Formality is not required just the quiet, constant expression of giving thanks. 

Simply, humbly, we say

Thank You.  Thank You. Thank You.

With Love,

Coach K

Tom Kaufmann

Let There Be Peace

Peace

Yes, we see it every day in the news. It seems to come at us from everywhere.  What is the reason, why is it happening.  How do we stop it.  Well, it starts with the individual, with the family.  We must embrace peace, spirituality, goodness, kindness, and love. 

Our culture has adopted violence as a means to sell a product.  From television, to video games, to music, to movies, to sports we glorify violence. We must take another path for the well being of our children, families, ourselves, and our society. 

The same time the Oregon incident happens,  we see on ESPN a movie advertisement with a graphic commercial detailing the life of gangster Whitey Bulger.  Children see 100's of murders on TV before they are ten years old.  The top selling video games are Grand Theft Auto and Halo, Ultimate Fighter where men and women beat and hurt each other are treated as entertainment, the football games where multiple players are carted off the field with major injuries,  it appeals to our base emotions.

We know that as violence increases in our entertainment and sports, violence increases in our real lives.  Like the Romans gathering to watch the Gladiators duel to the death, or Christians being fed to the lions.  This increased violence leads to a degradation of society and unravelling of civilization. 

We have to remove ourselves and family from the gratuitous ubiquitous violence.  We have become numb and immune to tragedy.  It's everywhere, commonplace in our culture and society, and we have to make a conscious effort to disconnect from it to seek a place of love, light, and peace.  The idea that if we taught our children to pray and meditate for an hour each day that the world would be a more peaceful place. As St. Francis said, make me a channel of your peace, we need to start with ourselves and be more peaceful, understanding, and tolerant of ourselves and others. 

Don't be fooled by the media.  Most people are loving, caring, and peaceful.  We need to choose and focus on uplifting and positive experiences and entertainment. 

And as the saying goes 

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. 

With Love,

Coach K

Tom Kaufmann

You Are Not Alone

Loneliness

So many of us feel lonely, disenfranchised, or abandoned.  Even in these times of incredible social media, instant and constant contact, we often times feel isolated.

How do we banish loneliness. How do we feel a connectedness to life.  How do we feel we belong.

One of the answers may be to understand our divine nature and our part of human society.  We all have a role and a purpose.  We all have a contribution to make.  From simply loving someone, to helping someone, to sharing a talent, we have a unique ability to make the world a better place.

When we think of ourselves as part of the human race it's helpful to think of nature.  All the trees in the forest are connected, all the fish in the ocean is part of a larger ecosystem.  The air we breathe is circulated around the globe carried by a universal wind.

Nature is one large system.  And so is the human race,  we are connected, and it is important to know that you are loved.

When we see millions of people help flood, earthquake, and tsunami victims through generous donations, thoughts, and prayers for people that they don't even know we can begin to understand our human understanding and dignity that we are ONE.  One people, one love, one collective soul.

Yes, there a acts of human violence that try to fool us into thinking we are separate but just as nature as it's acts of violence, we must know that the underlying character is of beauty, energy, and grace.  Nature is to be respected, admired, and loved.  And so it is with us.

Start by loving yourself.  Yes, you are wonderful and worthy.  We love you.  It is natural to have bad days and bad times, but these will pass surely as the sun shines through the clouds and rain.

We all have a divine nature, a divine image.  Simply knowing that we are all part of God, part of this beautiful, wonderful, human experience is truly humbling and gratifying.  The simple prayer of saying Thank You for every day is a terrific way to start the day.

Know that you are loved.  Know that you are part of a larger human race that cares for you, that know you are valuable.  But most of all know that you are divine, that you were made in the image of God, that it is a blessing that you are indeed here on this wonderful place called Earth.

With Love,

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann