The Spirit of the Olympics

I love watching the Olympics.  I love watching the best athletes in the world showing off their skills and passion for the sport.  I love how these athletes and their stories inspire me. Interestingly, this year I found another source of inspiration from the Olympics, the commercials.              

I normally don't like to find myself wrapped up in commercials, but some of the commercials this year were quite inspiring.  There was a commercial by Toyota (see below) where a mom is on the phone with an adoption agency and they are informing her that there is a baby, but there are issues.  The baby's legs will have to be amputated.  The agency woman says it won't be easy.  All during this commercial while we hear the voices of the mom and the agency, we are watching a little girl with amputated legs learning to swim, then as she gets older we see her continue to swim to the point of an accomplished swimmer.  In the end, we see this swimmer come up to the edge of a pool which is the kitchen of the mother on the phone. The swimmer looks on as the mother tells the adoption agent it may not be easy, but it will be wonderful.  The girl in the water smiles and swims away.  Toyota grabs our hearts with the message that anyone can succeed when given a chance.  It is a beautiful message.  

The other commercial that really grabbed my attention and gives hope is the spot that shows kids watching athletic competitions on T.V. when something unfortunate happens like a collision of athletes or a trip and stumble in a long race.  But, each of these instances shows the professional and compassionate athletes give up the competition of winning to help their opponents to their feet.  They are beautiful moments of the spirit of competition, but in these commercials with children watching, it seems even more impacting.  Specifically, one is a famous track race where a runner stumbles and falls.  The runner next to her stops to help her opponent up off the track.  Then we see the child watching in her own sport, and helping another child up off the field after a fall like she had seen on TV.  Another boy watches one soccer player accidentally trip another on the field, and instantly stop to help the opponent up.  Then we see that lesson learned as the boy on his own soccer match helps an opponent up.  The message, by an advertiser whom I do not remember, teaching sportsmanship and compassion is one that we need to see not only in sports but in all aspects of our lives.  

Like the Christmas Spirit, I would love to see the spirit of the Olympics last far into the days after the games have closed.  This spirit of years of dedication and sacrifice to be the best but without losing the focus of human compassion is what this is all about.  Let's look into the eyes of others, and help those who are struggling. Let's help others up off the field and get them back on their feet.  We always need to strive to be our best, but we don't have to be our best at the cost of others.  Let's be a positive example for the generations that will follow us and teach them compassion, sportsmanship, and love.  Let's pass on the hope that goodness always wins.            

                                                     

Teachers in the Dungeon: A Podcast

I have been excited to announce a new podcast that I have co-created and will co-host.  The show is titled Teachers in the Dungeon where co-creator and co-host, Dan Reem, and I will recap and analyze the games we play and Dungeon Master (DM).  I can give you a hint from some pre-recording, we make a lot of mistakes as players and Dungeon Masters.  If anything, as listeners who aspire to play, DM, or have played for years, it will make you feel better about giving the game a try, because through it all, we have a blast playing.  

At the beginning of this journey, we will have a couple different kinds of episodes.  As mentioned above, one type of episode will be our game recap and analysis shows.  We will also have episodes called "Random Encounters" that will discuss random topics of D&D and role-playing.  Our goal with Random Encounter episodes is to work through 5e rules, table observations, educational opportunities, character creation, and any other random topics that are on our minds.  Down the road, we hope to interview players and content creators from the 5e community.  

Episode 1, to release today August 10, breaks down where the show concept grew (my brain), and a bit about our backgrounds as players and DM's.  When we "dive into the dungeon" in episode 2, you will join our merry band of third level explorers including Borem, Rix, Zedi, Caersws, and Dirichlet as they head into Telesaria a home-brew campaign created by Dan.  

Teachers in the Dungeon will release once a week on Tuesdays, so I hope you join us.  We are always looking for feedback, so hop on our social media or send us an email in the following ways:

Twitter @DungeonTeachers

Instagram:  TeachersInTheDungeon

Gmail: teachersinthedungeon@gmail.com

Website:  www.teachersinthedungeon.weebly.com

"Grab some dice and grab some fun and join the teachers in the dungeon!"

Writer's Block!!

Writer's Block!!  That is probably the best way to describe my absence from Seeking Positivity in the Galaxy.  The month of July brought a lot of distractions with cycling, the Tour de France, baseball, the Olympics, family and summer events and so much more.  I am sure that I am not alone.  That isn't really an excuse, but my brain hasn't been able to put together cohesive thoughts worth sharing.  What do we do when that happens to us?  

I have tried a few things like just free writing in a journal with paper and pencil.  Many times those entries get going,  but then they wander all about with what my head "spilled."  This didn't quite satisfy my need for breaking out of my writer's block, but it did help me to reflect on what was on my mind.  This wasn't an overall bad thing.  

Another technique that I tried to break out of writer's block was to walk around with my phone and take pictures around the house and yard.  My goal was to try to find something that would be the catalyst for an idea.  Again, this was fun, and looking at my picture roll is interesting, to say the least.  For some reason, the dark, dirty cobwebs in my garage must have been on my mind.  I snapped a picture, then swept them down with a broom.  Some of those pictures may make their way to this blog, but it didn't do much for me in the month of July.  

My last technique was to just write about writer's block.  Hey, that is this entry!  My hope is that addressing it directly and sharing it will help me and my mind to move on.  We will see if that helps.  

Some good can come from bad.  The time I took away from writing helped me to brainstorm some ideas to develop my writing and share ideas with all of you.  Even in the dark of writer's block, stay positive and open to what may come. 

Stay tuned in the next few weeks for some exciting news that will be coming to Seeking Positivity in the Galaxy.