What Does Whitney Houston Teach Us?
Whitney Houston (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)
What does Whitney Houston Teach Us?
I have been trying to relate Whitney Houston’s passing to something a Little League Coach can apply to a life’s lesson. Of course there is the obvious, treasure every moment, stay away from drugs, love unconditionally as often as when we can, but all of you know I like to delve deeper into an issue than the issue typically warrants. I know, it is a horrible character flaw, but I can’t make it stop.
This one for me is fairly easy. I am on my 5th time through little league and have 22 years experience coaching kids. Every time I feel I have lost my way I look only to my oldest Justin, currently 27 years young. What Whitney teaches us is that in the big scheme of things, none of this really matters! Do you really care if your kids strikes out or hits a home run? If you do, other than how it hurts to see him/her in pain, then you should get your priorities straight.
20 years from now they won’t remember what they did. They are only learning character traits from you. What kind of kids do you want? How do you want them to act? What character are you developing in your children? Are you teaching them to cower in the face of adversity or are you teaching them that when life gets tough, the tough get going? Do you teach them that when things aren’t exactly as you like, you move on to the next best thing? Are you teaching them that dedication, loyalty, and commitment go much further in life than chasing the next great thing? Or are you teaching them that they should always be chasing greener pastures when the ones they have are actually quite ripe with successes!
Ironically, I read today a facebook post from an associate who gave great detail about her “death”. Today six years ago was the day she “died”. But she didn’t die. She was hit by a car going 45mph and didn’t even break a bone! She dedicated herself to making the world a better place. In her post, she states “Through my journey I have found myself, I’m aware of the issues that plague our society and what I as an individual and a leader can do about them. Every breath I take, I can feel”.
“Every breath I take, I can feel”. WOW! So I repeat, does it really matter if Johnny strikes out or hits a home run? Does it matter if Jane walks or scores on a squeeze? A friend of mine the other day texted me, “sorry about that, sometimes I take this stuff to seriously”. Hey, I am not saying you shouldn’t be disciplined, focused, and teaching life lessons daily in your routines. Remember though, you won’t remember if your child won or lost the game, but he/she will be forever shaped by how you react to it.
“and in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love, you make.“
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