One Way to Laugh, Think and Cry Everyday: Read

March Madness reminds us of the life and legacy of Jim Valvano, an Italian American basketball player, championship coach, and broadcaster. Not a tourney goes by without a nod to a speech he gave at the first ever ESPY awards in March 1993, Valvano was battling terminal cancer when he received the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Those words became his legacy, and the most famous part was when he shared his philosophy for a fulfilling day. He said,

To me, there are three things we all should do every day. If we do this every day of our life, you’re going to … What a wonderful … Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think, you should spend some time in thought. And number three is you should have your emotions moved to tears. Could be happiness or joy, but think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.

Unbeknownst to Jimmy V, his message serves as a strong argument for the power of reading. Here's how. Here's why.

Laugh:  I was sitting in the library with a group of students I had taken on our service immersion. We had been journaling, reminiscing, answering questions and catching up, when a singular book on the shelf  caught my attention. Ball Four! I cried. Everyone looked at me. "During my junior year of high school, my US History teacher had this book on a recommended reading list. He told me it was about baseball—so that was an easy choice. I laughed out loud so many times when I read that book."

One of my students, looked at me with confusion. "You laughed out loud? Reading a book?"

"Yes. This book was significant because it was a tell-all about life inside the clubhouse. Some of the antics that the author Jim Bouton—who had been a knuckleball throwing pitcher in MLB —recalls were hilarious." I realized why she was confused.

"Have you ever laughed out loud while reading a book?" I asked

"No," she admitted.

"It's one of the best feelings. Your eyes are moving along, your mind is comprehending the words and it always takes you by surprise. Spontaneous laughter. "

I didn't want her to feel badly. I added, "This hasn't happened a lot to me, but it certainly did when I read Ball Four."

Have you ever laughed while reading a book? I know my friend Karen did when she read "A Very Punchable Face: A Memoir" by Colin Jost. She said she had tears rolling down her face it was so funny. I began to think this is another reason to encourage young people to read. Laughing out loud while reading leads to a hearty laugh. A memorable one.... one worth seeking everyday.

Think: I just attended a two day Jesuit conference on technology and transformation at Brophy College Prep in Phoenix. The Innovation Summit unpacked the school's guide to ethical and purposeful Artificial Intelligence use. The presentations and demonstrations certainly gave me a whole lot to think about. 

One of the more helpful tools was the Brophy AI Usage Guide AI Levels for Academic Integrity. This infographic resonates with my teaching philosophy and how I want to conduct my classroom. AI is not the enemy, but rather a tool that can augment student learning. Inspired by my experience, I decided I should ask AI platform "Claude" how reading helps a person think for the purpose of this post. My prompt was met with answers I expected like:

• It exposes you to new ideas and perspectives that you might not encounter otherwise. This broadens your mental horizons and gives you more conceptual tools to work with.
• Reading develops your ability to follow complex arguments and narrative structures, strengthening your analytical thinking skills.
• When you read challenging material, you're forced to make connections between concepts, which builds your synthetic thinking abilities.

But what I enjoyed reading most was the conclusion that states: "The relationship between reading and thinking is reciprocal too - the more you think about what you read, the more you get from your reading. Engaging actively with texts through questioning, connecting to your own experiences, and considering implications deepens both your understanding and your thinking capacity." 

As someone who made reading a daily habit in 2021 with my "read for 21 minutes in 2021" practice, I have to say that A.I. got it right! Thank you, Claude.

Cry: A long time fan of the author Sherman Alexie, I finally read his book Flight. I had seen this work of fiction in the hands of many of my students for years. I enjoy familiarizing myself with what they read. The common canon can offer shared insights or poignant examples for in-class discussions. About 30 pages in to book, I had no idea where the story might land. 60 pages...90 pages in.... three quarters of the way through and I still couldn't tell. Today, I found out, and it made me cry. Really cry. It was beautiful.

I consider myself an equal opportunity crier. I cry at movies and TV shows. When I hear touching stories or personal testimonies, I'm not afraid to shed a tear. I don't get choked up at everything, but from time to time I find tears to be a source of relief. I've shed happy tears and sad tears. But there is one source of tears that continues that always comes as a surprise: when I read.

I have read more books that have made me cry than books that have made laugh, but the emotion is similar. It's touching because it's so personal. To hold a text and know that the words and message and author once penned still have meaning is powerful, mysterious and dynamic. While I was alone as I was reading and crying, I felt anything but alone. I felt moved. My heart was hurting while simultaneously healing. I had to tell someone about this experience, it was so real. I'm glad I did. 

Jim Valvano brought the NC State Wolf Pack to a stunning championship title. His motto for that journey was survive and advance. Those words have their own power, but they aren't what lead to a full day. While he didn't ask a book to make us laugh, think or cry in one setting, I can guarantee it will put one of those steps in motion. Should you catch the others, and you will, put a book mark on that. Pass it on. Life is a team sport.

Photo Credits
Flight

Laugh, Think, Cry....Everyday

Today was my final class with the Fall semester seniors enrolled in Sports and Spirituality. I loved this diverse group. They were smart, funny, open to new ideas, they asked thoughtful questions, the challenged each other in a respectful and spirited way. They also did (most of) their work...

What a great class. I miss them already.

The course concludes with a Sports and Spirituality synthesis. It's fun to see what athletes and saints they admire, who they wish we had discussed, what readings/articles spoke to them, and an image captures their spirituality (next blog posting!). After their presentations, I share my own remarks. I like to leave them with a parting wish for their future. Consider it a spiritual charge.

Ever since my spiritual director asked me to consider "What is God's dream for you?" my final words have addressed a common theme—not exactly pursuing your dreams but rather— the relationship between spirituality and dreams. When I heard her question, I could only think of a very personal and loving God. God has a dream for me? I know that scripture reveals the way that God has spoken to humanity through dreams (Joseph, Christ's earthly father), but this was different.

I like to think my spirituality is the way I carry out and work towards God dream for me. When I am in touch with my spiritual self, I am doing just that. My deepest desires give me purpose and passion. Sports is never far from that. At its best, athletics has the ability to be a showcase for the spiritual sense... if we have the eyes to see it—in the world and in ourselves.

One of my all time favorite responses to "How does it feel to have won the Masters?"....

And so in the Spring of 2012, I left my students with the words of Bubba Watson. Upon winning the 2012 Masters he said "I never got this far in my dreams." Clearly, he lived his life in such a way that prepared him for that feat. 

In the wake of the 2012 World Series title, I could not help but reference the words of the MVP, Pablo Sandoval. He said "I never imagined the president was going to write me.  That the presidential candidate was also going to write to me.  Many stars have written to me.  I’m a young man who suddenly receives all that in just a day?  My mother couldn’t be at the World Series, but every day she told me “Never wake up from this dream.” Panda reminds us that not only can our dreams come true...but when and if they so, remain grateful.

As I gathered my thoughts for this special group, I came to see every semester gives birth to a new charge. In the words of Pedro Arrupe, SJ "What touches our heart, what amazes us with joy and gratitude" is ever new, ever changing—and so are we. This is why I think it's so important to understand spirituality.

LTC...everyday

And so today I shared with them three words that have become a mantra in my life—Laugh, Think, Cry or "LTC." These are the words of the late Jim Valvano, who inspired millions both as a coach and a human being. On March 4, 1993, but a month before he died, he was awarded the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award at the first annual ESPY Awards. In his acceptance speech, he said

To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.

My friend and I re-encountered these words when we watched the "30 for 30" film about North Carolina State's 1983 Championship run, called Survive and Advance. I can't think of a conversation with this friend that has gone 2 for 3.  Tears of joy, tears of laughter, one thought after another, even when we're not in touch.  That's what those we truly love help us do: laugh, think and cry. And some have the ability to do so everyday. Wow!

I wanted my students to know this motto and I wanted them to know it's a part of me. In that sense, I shared my own spirituality. 

I hope they will have relationships that engender all three. I hope they will find in themselves the ability to do each every single day. I hope they know even God is in on this....and that athletics will provide them with examples to understand their own dreams, credos and more. LTC...everyday.

Photo Credits
Triumph

Survive and Advance: Not a Given Part 1

Sitting at the Transition Liturgy--the final all-school mass of the 2012-2013 school year, I looked at the students around me, heaved a huge sigh of relief.  I said a prayer of gratitude and I should have thought to myself--we made it.  Instead, the words that came to mind were "survive and advance."

The sad reality is that the school community of St. Ignatius College Prep completed this year without a tragedy in our student body--one we have been too familiar with in the past 4 years--suicide. In the wake of two student suicides just last year, our goal as a school community was to complete this year without another.   In that moment of reflecting upon the past year, I thought the title of ESPN's 30 for 30 "Survive and Advance" was both curious and sadly appropriate.

Most people know the beloved, late Coach Jim Valvano for his message "Don't give up...Don't ever give up" which today serves as the motto of "The V Foundation for Cancer Research."  What they don't know that he first used this quote publicly not at the 1993 ESPY's but on the court at Reynolds Coliseum to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the 1983 NC State men's basketball national championship team.  This "30 for 30" chronicles their fateful success and the players today recall stories about it.  It earned its title because Jimmy V's message to the Wolverines during the NCAA tourney wasn't "Don't give up..." No, it was something even more direct and simple.  It was "survive and advance."

What kind of coach tells a team to simply survive?  A coach who knows that it's not a given that you will; a coach who believes that you must do all that you can here and now.  Give it all you got.  Surviving means winning the game to stay in the tourney.  Advancing is the result of winning.  You survive, you advance.  Simple as that.  

The goal is to survive until the only place to advance is to a time and place where every player was asked to cut the net down.  Coach Valvano actually had his players practice this ritual.  Watching players climb the ladder and complete this mental exercise was somewhat strange to watch.  I thought Is this presumptuous?  Is it necessary? What kind of coach has his players cut down the net?  Now I know it's one that understands the goal and fruit of his words: "survive and advance" and "Don't give up. Don't ever give up."  And that is victory, triumph and even life itself.

Jimmy V's message is in no way limited to basketball or to sports in general.  High school is tough.  The academic, social and athletic demands put on young people today are extraordinary.  The physical, emotional and spiritual growth that transpires in just four years time in extraordinary.  For some, these are the "Glory Days" and for others, everyday is a challenge.  It's not a given that you will survive and advance. Yes, this truth is much more obvious in sports than a school year.  Regardless, I don't take either for granted.

One the last day of finals, I had to proctor a freshmen English exam.  Their teacher came in to check on how they were doing.  He then turned to me and asked loud enough for all of them to hear: "What is the best thing about freshmen? They become sophomores!"

I hope they do.  Survive and Advance.

Part II will address the heart of Jimmy V's ESPY speech and how it also relates to this past school year.

Photo Credits
30 for 30 Dreams
First 30 for 30
Net