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Heroes

Heroes

Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh eases a child's grief with just eight words

"Birth and death are only a game of hide-and-seek."

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Thích Nhật in 2014.

There are times when it seems no words can soothe the sadness following the death of a loved one. Whether you're a child just discovering grief or a fully grown adult with years of trials and tribulations behind you, grief can sneak up and feel insurmountable.

Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh was a spiritual leader and Zen philosopher, whom many referred to as "the father of mindfulness." Coining the idea of "Engaged Buddhism," his aim was to turn the concept of reflection into action.

From Harvard.edu: "Some observers may associate Buddhism, and especially Buddhist meditation, with turning inward away from the world. However, many argue that the Buddhist tradition, with its emphasis on seeing clearly into the nature of suffering and, thus, cultivating compassion, has a strong impetus for active involvement in the world’s struggles. This activist stream of Buddhism came to be called 'Engaged Buddhism'—Buddhism energetically engaged with social concerns."

 Buddha, Buddha statue, Plum Village, Engaged Buddhism, Th\u00edch Nh\u1ea5t H\u1ea1nh A brown buddha statue sits near a green mountain.  Photo by abhijeet gourav on Unsplash  

Hạnh spent the entirety of his life meditating on and writing about nonviolent conflict resolution, love, death, compassion, and mindfulness—and then urging people around the world to take action to make impactful change. He connected people of all faiths through his writing, teaching engagements, and the founding of the Plum Village Monastery in the Dordogne, southern France near the city of Bordeaux. In all he did, Hạnh worked with the intent to encourage people to seek both inner and outer peace.

Proving he was also a powerful poet, in an Instagram reel making the rounds, Hạnh was once asked by a child how she can "stop being sad." In the video she says, "I had a doggy. And this doggy died and I was very sad." She turns to him, "So I don't know how to be not so sad." Gently, he responds, "Suppose you look up into the sky and you see a beautiful cloud. And you like the cloud so much."

The child looks at him intently, her eyes welling up with tears. He continues, "And suddenly the cloud is no longer there. And you think that the cloud has passed away. Where is my beloved cloud now? So if you have time to reflect, to look, you see that the cloud has not died. It has not passed away. The cloud has become the rain. And when you look at the rain, you see your cloud."

Her eyes remain bright with curiosity, as he says, "And when you drink your tea, mindfully, you can see the rain in your tea and you can see your cloud in your tea. And you can say, 'Hello, my cloud. I know you have not died. You are still alive in a new form.' So the doggy is the same. And if you look very deeply, you can see doggy in its new form."

The girl starts laughing and crying in what seems to be a very pure moment of understanding. "You are still alive in a new form" seemed to help transform her thoughts on change and death in just minutes.

Aubert Bastiat (@aubertbastiat) posted the Instagram clip, which is a snippet from the documentary Walk with Me about Thích Nhất Hạnh's teachings. Bastiat comments, in his own words, "Love doesn’t vanish, it simply transforms." This concept is backed up in much of Hanh's work, including his book, No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life, in which he wrote, "Birth and death are only a door through which we go in and out. Birth and death are only a game of hide-and-seek. So smile to me and take my hand and wave good-bye. Tomorrow we shall meet again or even before."

  Thích Nhất Hạnh, Buddhism, death, Buddhist monk  www.youtube.com, Plum Village  

And just under the first comment on the reel, the director of the documentary, Marc J. Francis, writes, "I shot this for my film Walk With Me…. Love seeing this scene being shared."

Something about the deep need to make sense of death spawned many vulnerable comments. People shared their heartfelt stories—from those who have lost someone recently to those who are sick and facing their own mortality.

And of Thích Nhất Hạnh himself, a commenter simply writes, "One of my life’s best teachers."

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Heroes

A maintenance worker heard screams coming from a pool. He did not hesitate to act.

There are heroes everywhere.

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A young person's hand sticks up from the water.

At first, it seemed like any regular sunny day in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. An apartment complex security camera captured the sun shining over the wispy palm trees. A six-year-old boy named Oscar was on vacation with his family and was lounging on an inflatable raft in a pool. Unsteady, however, he slips off the raft into the water, and frighteningly—he can't swim.

His cousin, standing at the edge of the pool, also can't swim, and luckily had the foresight to not jump in after him. Two people who can't swim is definitely worse than one. Panicked, Oscar flails and slips under, while his cousin screams for help. It was terrifying. He tries to push the raft over to Oscar, yelling, "Oscar, grab it!" But he can't.

At the same time, Roque Ivan Ocampo Calderon, who was doing maintenance on the property, happened to hear the screams. In the video, he runs out with absolutely no hesitation, takes his shoes off, and jumps in. He quickly gathers Oscar in his arms and swims him to safety, though he needed the cousin's help to lift him out of the pool. But here's the kicker: Calderon admitted he wasn't a very good swimmer either.

What happened next was a masterclass in first-aid: Ivan begins administering CPR and, quite possibly, according to news reports, saved Oscar's life.

At this point, people nearby began to gather to see how they can help. Oscar's mom had been notified and soon she can be seen frantically running to the scene as any mother would. Police and EMTs arrive, but Oscar is not out of the woods. As shown on Inside Edition, a police officer asks how long Oscar was in the water, and Calderon answers, "Maybe two minutes." He's taken to the hospital and, after two days, was able to return home, a healthy boy.

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

As reported by Yahoo News, in a news press conference, Calderon relays, "I started doing CPR. The kid wasn’t breathing, but I kept doing it and doing it until he started breathing again."

The ample news coverage of the story spawned many articles and reports under many of which commenters are hailing Calderon a true hero. Quite a few are also moved by how relatable this scary moment is—not only to the viewer, or any parents out there, but also to the journalists. One notes (referring to Inside Edition), "I've never seen an anchor get emotional like that, She was almost crying."

Another gives a note that could be helpful should someone else encounter someone drowning: "He took his shoes off first. Always take off your shoes—they can collect water and inhibit you from creating a surface to push off underwater. Even advanced swimmers can have difficulty swimming with shoes on, let alone saving someone else too."

 pool, swimming, safety, water, hero A picture of a swimming pool.  Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash  

And one reminds us that, despite the judgment some seemed to impose in the comments, this could happen to anyone. "I vividly remember being 7 years old and jumping into the deep end, not knowing how to swim. Thankfully, someone was there to save me… Learning to swim is a life skill that every child should have the chance to develop early. It can make all the difference."

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An errant pitch hit a Little League player in the head. His response was peak sportsmanship.

An unforgettable moment.

Photo credit: Canva

A viral video from a Little League game has people celebrating good sportsmanship.

Youth sports have gotten more intensely competitive, to the point where overeager parents and coaches have to regularly be reminded to take it down a notch. So when humanity takes precedence over team rivalries, it's extra heartwarming.

And considering how many "kids these days" laments we see coming from older generations, it's also heartening to see kids showing excellent character qualities when no one directly asked them to.

 baseball, kids, sports, sportsmanship Part of playing sports is learning to be a good sport. Photo credit: Canva

A viral video from a Little League baseball game is giving us a nice dose of both—good sportsmanship and basic human kindness from two players from opposing teams.

As reported by USA Today, Isaiah (Zay) Jarvis, a batter from Oklahoma, took a pitch from Texas East pitcher Kaiden Shelton right to the side of his helmet. It was a hard blow that caused Jarvis to spin around and crumble to the ground, grabbing his head. The replay in slow motion shows that the ball basically just knocked his helmet off, though it was undoubtedly jarring and probably painful as well.

Jarvis was able to continue playing, but Shelton was shaken up. No matter how fierce the competition, no one wants to be responsible for injuring another person. He was visibly upset on the mound, so Jarvis left first base and approached him.

Watch the classy interchange:

 

That a kid this age would approach a player who hit him with a ball and comfort him with a hug, especially knowing that all eyes were on him, is just so lovely. Someone raised this young man to put people's feelings ahead of competitiveness and not worry about what others might think.

And the fact that the pitcher was so distraught at the possibility of having hurt someone is also so sweet. This was a moment that showed the true character of both of these boys, and both of them exemplified caring and compassion.

 

People praised the boys' empathy and humanity.

"Both of those boys are what you want your kids to aspire to," wrote one commenter. "One willing to forgive and knows it wasn't intentional and the other showing remorse and sorrow. I love it!!"

 

Thankfully, these kids aren't some one-off anomaly. We see examples of kindness and empathy all the time in sports. Despite how fierce competition can get, enjoyment of the game and the self-improvement on all levels that comes with playing is what it's all about, and many coaches and parents strive to make sure that their kids are learning all of those lessons.

This video demonstrates even more than simple respect for an opponent. It shows that this kid recognized his opponents humanity first and foremost. He didn't just say, "It's no problem." He recognized that the pitcher had feelings of his own and wanted to make sure he was okay. That's a whole other level of sportsmanship to strive for, one that takes nothing away from strong competition and doing your best to win.

 sportsmanship, athletes hug, kindness Sportsmanship is what it's all about.  Giphy GIF by Major League Soccer 

Many adults could even learn from the emotionally intelligent and empathetic interaction of these two kids. Good sportsmanship all around. Love to see it. Big kudos to these kiddos and whoever raised them.

This article originally appeared three years ago.



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One dad's wholesome game at Pride events has made him a living legend

"Can I play catch with you?'"

Play Catch With a Dad/Facebook

Adllyship comes in many forms.

So much about allyship is helping to make those who are excluded feel welcome again. And there are numerous ways to accomplish that.

For John Piermatteo, allyship came in the form of simply playing catch. Over the past five years, Piermatteo, a straight dad, has been showing up to Pride events offering to toss a ball around with members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Inspired by the “mom hugs” and “grandmother hugs” he’d seen offered at Pride events, the straight dad thought that a game of catch was a unique and personal way to offer a meaningful father figure experience to those who might have been rejected by their own families.

Piermatteo first brought his idea to life in 2019 at York Unity Fest in York, Pennsylvania, where he sat under a tree, football at the ready, next to a hand painted sign that read “Play Catch With a Dad.”


It took several trips past my sign before anyone engaged,” he recalls on his website. “I watched people go by looking at the sign out of the side of their eye, then, on the next pass, they might make eye contact with me.”

Eventually, people began walking up to Piermatteo directly to ask “Can I play catch with you?” The exchanges easily turned emotional.

“ I lost count of the number of times we both cried. It was powerful.”

Play Catch With A Dad | Facebook

Play Catch With A Dad | Facebookwww.facebook.com

Despite taking a setback during COVID, “Play Catch With a Dad” has turned into a full on movement, with Piermeeto and friend traveling nationwide to toss the ol’ pigskin with folks with upward of hundreds of people per day.

So far, they’ve visited not only York, Lancaster, Lititz and Chambersburg in Pennsylvania, but San Diego Pride and Phoenix Pride as well. In 2025, they plan to add Maryland and Chicago to the list.

Playing catch is just one of those activities that instantly evokes the image of a safe, healthy, loving father-child relationship. And considering that at least one study has shown that upwards of 70% of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth experience some degree of parental rejection of their sexual identity, it’s easy to see how this innocent offering likely fills a yearning for so many.

Piermatteo’s contribution, and the massively positive response to it, shows that where allyship does take action, it’s often the simplest acts of compassion that make the most meaningful impact. Yes, we need to fight for policies that protect LGBTQ individuals from discrimination, but sometimes…playing catch really is enough to say “you are welcome, just as you are.”

If you’d like to donate to Play Catch With Dad, or even set up a Play Catch With a Dad event in your area, you can find more information here.

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