Part 1 of today’s message will focus on the power of connection. Part 2 of today’s message will share a story about kindness, because we need more of it. Both of these themes, when we pay attention to them, are sources of hope, joy, and fuel for whatever is next in our lives. It’s not necessarily about the content of the two pieces I am going to share, but rather the POWER and WARMTH that they give.
Part 1: Connection
I am a massive soccer fan. I have played soccer my whole life and began coaching as soon as I was able to (which means the minute my kids were old enough to play). Through my love of the game, I became a fan of the Liverpool Football Club (a team from the English Premiere League for those that aren’t familiar). And while watching this club stumble and succeed, I have made connections that have given me moments that will forever be etched in my heart.
To be perfectly clear, the team I support is irrelevant to the notion I am sharing today.
So what is within the notion? Being a fan has give me hours of joy, hours of witnessing the benefits of perseverance, hours of tears of joy through victory, hours of bummy feelings through loss, and hours upon hours of conversations all while the reds play on the screen. All of which happen miles away from the field Liverpool play on.
These connections that are celebrated and shared have little to do with the game itself, but have everything to do with the humans I share the room with while we watch.
It’s an authentic connection. And it happens to people across the planet when Liverpool play. It also happens when the Minnesota Timberwolves battle during the playoffs. It happens when the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago Cubs and countless other baseball teams play during the spring and summer. It occurs when rugby teams play wherever rugby teams play. These teams and competitions create the conditions for the connections. It gives me time with my wife, my sons Colin, Brian, Sean, and my daughter Cecelia. We watch, we talk, we text, we call, and we connect; all through the mechanism that is Liverpool.
So if you ask me if this connection is about Liverpool, I would say “absolutely not.”
But as I walk away, I would smile and say, “absolutely.”
Part 2: Kindness
Kindness speaks for itself. As recipients of kindness it propels us, encourages us, affirms us, and softens us. We know it’s out there, but sometimes we limit ourselves and don’t know how to take that feeling, make it tangible, and then pass it on to others. This section on kindness is not only to share a beautiful moment of it, but to also give a small example of how it can be given to others.
Each morning I receive an email from the 1440 Daily Digest. As far as my limited brain can decipher, they are a neutral news source that shares all kinds of relevant info. On May 3rd, they included a piece written by a reader in their section titled “Humankind(ness).” I was moved by the intention of the writer’s example and I was motivated by the simplicity of how I can move forward with my own acts of kindness.
Below is a story from a 1440 reader, Holly A. from Haines City, Florida included in their May 3rd, 2025 Weekend Edition.
“I have been struggling lately with my own connection to others in these divisive times, with my ability to offer grace and kindness amidst so much intolerance and hate, to find my own humanity in an inhumane world. Five years ago, at the start of the pandemic, my husband and I placed plastic Easter eggs on the lawns of every home in our subdivision with a message of hope inside. I thought there was maybe someone who needed that message in that egg.
So this Easter, I decided, despite my trepidation, to revive my hope eggs this time for my coworkers, leaving 120 plastic eggs all over the building with chocolate and my simple message, ‘On this day and all days may you find light, hope, strength, voice, connection, compassion, peace, renewal…and chocolate.’
As everyone found their eggs …. people began thanking me with hugs and tears in their eyes, even people I didn’t know came to introduce themselves …. I had no idea how many people had been feeling the same way I was and how much those simple words would begin to create new connections and open hearts that were as guarded as mine. In dark times, we are tasked with finding even the smallest bit of light and sharing it with those around us. It is that tiny spark that stands to ignite not only the humanity in others but just as importantly to remind us of our own.”
With these stories of Connection & Kindness fresh in your mind, please accept the following two challenges:
- Challenge 1: Find NEW ways to connect with others and a NEW vision of what those connections mean.
- Challenge 2: Find a small way to show kindness and be “that tiny spark that stands to ignite not only the humanity in others but just as importantly to remind us of our own.”
All the best to you and yours from our Top 20 team,…Tom, Willow, and Kevin
Kevin Brennan
Director, Top 20 Training
651-373-0297
kevin@top20training.com
