Impression Evergreen

The Cadet Chapel "We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does. ~ Cadet Honor Code Below a spectacular summit named Eagle, we spent a stormy, summer weekend playing in a soccer tournament at the United States Air Force Academy. The athletic fields were immaculate and the opening day atmosphere was electric. We were focused on our ordinary lives and our children competing at that time. Some may have failed to look across the way where soldiers were practicing sports like soccer, baseball and football. Make no mistake though, it wasn't all fun and games for those young men and women stationed in Colorado Springs studying the art of military warfare. We complained about parking, the heat and losing but did that really matter? The politics associated with youth soccer are just insignificant nonsense compared to the lessons being taught over the wall. Up on The Terrazzo, cadets are struggling to survive one of the most rigorous academic and mil...

Buddha reinterpreted the theory of karma The kids on my soccer team have asked me if I believe in karma. They always use the word as a synonym for luck. They think good karma means good luck. Sometimes after a loss they blame it on "bad karma" and resign themselves to the belief that karma is something beyond their control. They believe the outcome of their game had already been determined. A fatalistic point of view that couldn't be farther from the truth. The Buddhist states that the present is influenced by the past and the future will be based on choices you make now. Your choices are made of your own volition, so you control your own destiny. You have free will. The theory of karma originated in ancient India and is central to Hinduism. Buddha later reinterpreted and explained the doctrine. He taught that karma is a complex, non-linear, unseen natural law that flows freely through the universe. The Buddhist version was exported to the United States where its tr...

Fall color on Rabbit Ears Pass I've been helping out with my 11 year old son's soccer team for six years now and it's been a lot of fun. Soccer is a great sport because it's a player's game. Once the whistle blows the action is non-stop with little or no interference from the coaches. The players are free to make their own decisions concerning positioning and ball movement. As the boys have grown older, my duties have evolved from tying shoes and wiping noses to shagging balls and picking up cones. Sometimes at practice, if the numbers aren't right, I have to jump into a drill and if I'm lucky I might even get to play in a scrimmage. I think the boys accept me like a teammate, I know I've grown very attached to them. We recently traveled up over Rabbit Ears Pass and down into Steamboat for a league game. It was a tough first half as our team constructed some good buildups and took great shots, they just couldn't finish. There were near misses, ...