Craffies Coaching

“Don’t worry if you have problems! Which is easy to say until you are

in the midst of a really big one. But the only people I am aware of

who don’t have troubles are gathered in little neighbourhoods. Most

communities have at least one. We call them cemeteries.

If you’re breathing, you have difficulties. It’s the way of life. And

believe it or not, most of your problems may actually be good for you!

Let me explain.

Maybe you have seen the Great Barrier Reef, stretching some 1,800

miles from New Guinea to Australia. Tour guides regularly take

visitors to view the reef. On one tour, the guide was asked an

interesting question. “I notice that the lagoon side of the reef looks

pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and colourful,” a

traveller observed. “Why is this?”

The guide gave an interesting answer: “The coral around the lagoon

side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies

early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind,

waves and storms – surges of power. It has to fight for survival every

day of its life. As it is challenged and tested it changes and adapts.

It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces.” Then he added

this telling note: “That’s the way it is with every living organism.”

That’s how it is with people. Challenged and tested, we come alive!

Like coral pounded by the sea, we grow. Physical demands can cause us

to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress can produce

tough-mindedness and resiliency. Spiritual testing can produce

strength of character and faithfulness.

So, you have problems – no problem! Just tell yourself, “There I grow again!”

- Author Unknown

A good friend of mine always tell the story, of a story line in one of the Maternity Wards he visited: The first 30 sixty seconds of life is pretty dangerous, and then somebody added, the last thirty is also pretty dangerous.

The following quote by Allan Sacs; “Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives,” leads to the following question how do we life these moments between birth and death?

• Do we life our passion?
• Do we love unconditionally?
• Do we care?
• Are we creating a legacy?
• Are we brand ambassadors for Christ?
• Are we living our dreams, or other’s dreams?

“Write the bad things that are done to you in sand, but write the good things that happen to you on a piece of marble.” Arabic parable

Just a few thoughts on the mind and keeping it fit.

Thoughts about the future or the past have a definite impact on the brain. It was determined through research that one can gain skills through observation and indirect experience. So make sure: you’re thoughts is part of your brains exercise to learn positive skills.

Playfulness…. The philosopher Henri Bergson wrote; “To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to create oneself endlessly.” The ways in which kids play have two beautiful skill building components to it to develop emotional and social skills. Through play they learn how to see the world out of different perspectives; they also learn how to interact with the world. Sometimes they get hurt, however they get back to the present and learn from the moment and enjoy it. To close on this Einstein said that imagination is more important than knowledge….I would agree with this, however I will add that dreams with out action/fun/playfulness is just dreams and we need to take action.

To read… it was discussed in this blog already, to be open to learn. This will help us to recognize the patterns of the world around us and to be able to act pro-actively to utilize the opportunities. It is also the learning of new languages to be able to describe new things in the world. (Right brain)

Expression of “language”, taking the new information and creating something new, being creative or innovative, expressing it in writing, art, what ever your natural or unnatural way of expressing, making food what ever. (Left Brain)

As a last thought…Yes, exercise is necessary to keep the body clock on the go but it is also good for the mind. The American Heart association currently recommends 30 min of moderate exercise a week. It rid the body of all the stress we toxic-ate it with.

Let’s do something playful, be a kid again, do some reading to stimulate our thinking and express ourselves in a wild way this weekend.

The question most probably can be asked what happiness is. Neil Kaufman writes in his book, Happiness is a choice, that the following six principals are central to happiness:
Make happiness the priority
Personal Authenticity
Letting go of judgments
Being present
Being grateful
Deciding to be happy.

Looking at principal two to five, it leaves me with the thought that Mindfulness will be key to these principals.

Mindfulness can be described as the ability to stop for a moment or minutes and just to be, to be quite and to be aware of one’s thoughts but to direct it back to the moment or to one’s breathe.

“Mindfulness/Meditation can do that which nothing else can do, it introduces you to yourself.” Swami Rama.

What a way to stop: To learn one better, to be aware of our thoughts, to develop the discipline of presence and lastly to develop the skill to be able to evolve to a being to life live to its fullest.

Secondly to be grateful for the small things, I heard of somebody that got into the practice to say thank you everyday for something that they did not say thank you for before…. Make one think.