GOD MAKES THE DRINK, NOT THE CUPS

One cold evening late in December, a group of alumni who were well established in their careers, got together to visit their old professor. After arriving at his residence, each began to boast of their individual successes, and before long old rivalries began to surface. Their only common thread seemed to be bitter complaints about the stresses each of them experienced in their workplaces and in their daily lives.

The professor listened quietly, then offered his guests a cup of hot chocolate. He went to the kitchen and returned with a large container and an assortment of cups, porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal; some plain looking, some expensive, some quite exquisite, telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

 When all of his former students had a cup of the chocolate in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were quickly taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the hot chocolate. In most cases the cup is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was the warm drink, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best, most attractive cup...and then you began eyeing and envying one another's cups."

"Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate, the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the warm drink God has provided us. GOD MAKES THE DRINK, NOT THE CUPS.

Enjoy your hot chocolate! And remember: The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!

A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule "braying" or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened...and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery. Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back...a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back...he should shake it off and step up! This he did blow after blow. "Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up! It was not long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well. What seemed like would bury him, actually blessed him...all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. That's life! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness or self-pity...the adversities that come along to bury us usually have within them the potential to benefit and bless us! Remember forgiveness-faith-prayer-praise and hope.... All are excellent ways to "shake it off and step up", out of the wells in which we find ourselves! One more thing..."never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the titanic."

ARE YOU GUARDING A CONCRETE SLAB?

There was an army barracks that had on its duty roster 4 soldiers to guard at all times a concrete slab in front of the barracks. The soldiers changed shifts guarding the slabs for many years. Different commanders came and went and the tradition continued.

After many years, a new commander was assigned to the barracks. Amongst the things he did was asking why things were done the way they were. When he asked why soldiers were guarding the slab, he was told, "We've always done it this way. It's our tradition. Our former commanders instructed us to do that."

The commander was adamant on finding out why. He went to the archives to look for answers and he came across a document that had the explanation. The document was very old. It had instructions written by one of the retired commanders who had even passed away.

The new commander learnt that over 80 years ago, the barracks wanted to build a platform where events could be performed. When the concrete slab was laid, wild animals walked over it at night before the slab would dry. The soldiers would fix it the next morning but when evening came the same thing would happen. So the commander ordered that 4 soldiers should guard the concrete slab for 3 weeks to allow it to dry. The following week the commander was transferred to another post and a new commander was brought in. The new commander found the routine and enforced it and every commander that came did the same. Eighty years later the barracks continued guarding a concrete slab.

What beliefs, attitudes, traditions have you carried on that were relevant to certain people or a certain time and they are still being carried out by you? Is your opinion about yourself, people of a different race, the opposite sex, certain business opportunities, new products etc obsolete? Question the status quo.

There is beauty in life - if you look for it!

There is a famous saying: "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." At times, human beings are not satisfied with what they have. People seem to do well until, unfortunately, they experience a loss. Then, usually, they want to be better - to experience the "green grass." It's human nature to always want to be better, to have more. Isn't that what is meant by the phrase "dream big?" At times, dreaming big might be great; however, at other times one should be thankful for what one has.

Consider the story of the 75 year old grandmother taking her 5 year old grandson, Matonya, to the beach for the first time. She was so excited. She bought Matonya a brand new complete outfit for his first time at the beach: new cap, new grey VEST,new swimsuit, new t-shirt, new shoes and a new sand bucket with a shovel.
They walked to the beach holding hands. As they got to the sand, Matonya said, "Grandma, because I can't swim I won't go near the water; so I'll just dig up the sand with my new shovel far from the sea."
However, Matonya had difficulty digging up the hard sand far from the water. Therefore, he said, "Shushu, this sand is too hard. Can I get close to the water where the sand is easier to dig?" Matonya quickly added, "But I promise I won't go in the water."
Hesitantly, the grandmother looked into Matonya's begging big eyes and said, "Okay, but promise you won't go in the water."
Matonya screamed with glee, "I promise." As he was close to the ocean he was having such a good time, digging and digging with ease in the soft sand. Unfortunately, a huge wave came on the shore and swallowed up little Matonya, taking him out to sea.
With her vigilant eyes, watching him from afar, his grandmother screamed, "Oh my God! Oh my God! Help me God!"
Just then, another huge wave thundered onto the beach from the ocean and "spit forth" little Matonya safely back on the shore.
Elated, the grandmother ran toward the boy and tightly hugged her 5 year old grandson. Wiping tears from her eyes she cried out as she looked toward the heavens, "Thank you God! Thank you so much!"
She then looked back down at her little sweet Matonya. She once again quickly looked back at the heavens and screamed, "Hey...Where's his new cap!?" Matonya was admiring his grey VEST.

Life is full of people who are not satisfied and not thankful for what they have. Many times people are constantly dwelling on what they have lost, rather than being satisfied and thankful for what they still have left. Be thankful for what you have, and set your goals for higher things." The world is full of many horrible things, as well as many wonderful things. Sometimes a person is constantly looking at the "horrible" things. However, my hopes are that they will be able to find the beauty in life. It's there - if you look for it!

East Africa Cup 2011, The road to Moshi begins.....

Its one week remaining to East Africa Cup 2011 kick off this year, young people all over East and Central Africa are energized about the “road to Moshi”. Participants from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Southern Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Host Tanzania are excited about participating in Africa largest youth sport and development event. From the 16th of June all roads will be leading to Moshi in Tanzania, not to climb striking Mt Kilimanjaro but to celebrate people who use sport in their community throughout the year.

To stress that East Africa cup is more than just sports, before the tournaments kicks off on the 22nd of June, leaders will be taking part in different trainings ranging from Kicking Aids Out from 17th to 20st focusing on potential leader level II, leader level II, and master trainers, 18th to 20th referees, 18th and 19th EACCES meeting (East Africa Cup Community Coach Education Systems), BBC world service trust will be delivering trainings on Journalism and media skills from 20th to 25th. Other training focusing on the participants will run concurrently with the tournament i.e. leadership, first aid and sports injuries, cartoon seminars, conflict resolution, HIV/AIDS, culture and coaching. Is this not unique approach!

Another milestone in this year’s event is the introduction of volley ball and sitting volley ball which will be additional to football and reflects EAC desire to connect more with many young people all over East Africa and the whole world.

On the 23rd ICES (International Community Coach Education Standards) webinar will be hosted by East Africa Cup aimed at exploring the role that competition plays in effective sport and development programmes and the implications for coach education in this field. The speakers on this webinar will address the question of whether promoting competitiveness and competition either supports of detracts from development goals.

This is just a tip of the ice berg, we have a lot happening in this year’s event, you just can’t afford to miss, but if you happen to, we shall be live on twitter, facebook, blog, and also different journalist from different media houses will be broadcasting live news.

We just cant wait….

Follow us on http://www.facebook.com/eastafricacup, http://twitter.com/#!/eastafricacup and http://www.eacup.org for more updates.

What does Love mean!

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all even when his hands got arthritis, too. That's Love."
Rebecca - age 8

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
Karl - age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French Fries without making them give you any of theirs."
Chrissy - age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
Danny - age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss."
Emily - age 8

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate."
Nikka - age 6

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, and then he wears it everyday."
Noelle - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."
Tommy - age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."
Cindy - age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
Clare - age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."
Elaine-age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."
Chris - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her oldclothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
Lauren - age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you"
Karen - age 7

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross."
Mark - age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
Jessica - age 8

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. (Now this will melt your heart.) The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

Desire!

“I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance; to live so that which came to me as a seed goes to the next as a blossom and that which came to me as a blossom, goes on as fruit.”