The Coach and The Priest

This past week, two great men left us in-person…one a Coach, the other a Priest

One a quintessential American, the other an authentic South African

One a man who knew a game, the other who used the swag of his name.

John Madden was our Coach..he was our Guide, our Conduit, our Channel to tune into for all things football

Larger than life itself, the burly man often said ‘Boom’ and you felt it in your gut, he transported you to the field

Talking about Turduckens as he doodled on the screen, at times only he knew or did not know what he was saying

But we listened, we paid attention, we trusted in Madden to guide us Sunday after Sunday….

Desmond Tutu was our Priest,.he was our Guide, our Conscience, our Truth-Teller to understand all things not equal

Small in size, Larger then life itself, the soft spoken strong man said ‘Do your little bit of good…’ and you felt it in your gut, he transported you to your higher self

Talking about Forgiveness and as he used the swag of who he was, he brought healing to the South African people via the ‘Truth & Reconciliation Commission’

And we listened, we paid attention, we trusted in Tutu to guide us on what is human, what is compassion and what is truth….

What made these two men Greats in their own rights, was their ability to be Present and their keenness to be Focused

They always operated in the moment with full attention on the task or effort at hand and yet with full awareness of the context of their environments

Mindfulness is the Art of Focus with Full Awareness

I’d like to think that both Madden and Tutu learned to be mindful in their lives

To put together my two favorite things they said: “Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. It's a touchdown!”

Thank you John Madden and Desmond Tutu. Lives well Lived!

Be Mindful.