Better luck next time, England

I feel the pain of defeat

It was the summer of 2010, and I was on holiday from the Netherlands in Spain when the World Cup final taking place in South Africa became the focus of my day. I was in my Oranje (Orange) strip, found a friendly Dutch pub and gathered with fellow supporters to cheer our team.

Alas! The game did not go our way and I was marooned on an island of jollity, many of us Dutch visitors crestfallen and disappointed as the Spanish celebrated through the night. My lonely walk back to my hotel, a lesson in the cloak of defeat.

More expectation than presentation

Whilst I have been quite happy with the progress of England through the belated Euro 2020 tournament, I have tempered excitement with much realism. No game was won until the final whistle was blown, though I only watched the last 10 minutes between England and Germany, and we exorcised the demon on our backs.

In supporting Nigeria and England, the level of anxiety is just too high for me to watch a live match, for the semi-final and the final, I followed the match slightly distracted on the BBC live reporting text webpage, giving it a glance every few minutes and hoping for the best.

Better luck next time

If anything, I have never been caught or enamoured by football nationalism or jingoism, each game had to be played on the field in the heat of the moment by the team eking out a clear win or they are left at the mercy of penalty kicks in which we have had very little luck.

That England got to the final was a commendable surprise, but they were to meet a formidable opponent, the statistics of the game suggests Italy had the most possession for little reward. I dared wish there would be a celebratory outcome, but it would not have mattered apart from my joining in the euphoria of the many.

There would be analyses and commentary regarding England’s performance, but the game is over. There are aspects of managerial leadership that should be up for learning lessons, Gareth Southgate, did a good job of preparing the team for the challenges they faced. I literally sat this tournament out like my 7-month self in 1966 when we won the World Cup. Better luck next time.

Thought Picnic: A mindset not to resent the present

Seeing beyond the limits

There are times when situations and circumstances get together to frustrate that you begin hitting out allowing the negativity to consume your thoughts and reactions. This is when you need the quiet and quietness around you to reassess how you are responding to things outside your control.

We can so easily be helpless and forlorn, completely unable to see a way out that we are trapped and immobile. It happens to many of us and it is part of life.

Yet, I have the good fortune to sometimes step back and ask myself whether I am tackling issues in the best way, if there ways in which I can change my mindset and adjust my frame of mind so as not to be frustrated in the first instance and consequently overwhelmed.

Beyond just coping with it

There are many things I have been able to shrug off or ignore, others I have tackled head-on, in certain circumstances it is just a matter of accepting the situation whilst looking for alternative remedies to mitigate the impact. I am affected, but what long term effect and hold would I allow to define my outlook.

I believe in prayers; the problem is usually not the prayer but finding the right words for the prayers you want answered. You may not get a miracle, but a speedy recovery with the medication working well for you, your wellbeing and quality of life, might well be a great miracle when looked back on as a blessing to be counted.

We are a storied existence of feats that do not have to end in defeats. Whilst every defeat we face is most definitely an old feat better understood for new strength, renewed courage and acquired skill.

Mindful of better prayers

We are not always assailed by enemies, sometimes what we require is mercy, grace, and favour. To looked favourably upon when you are applying for something. To be given good consideration, time, and space to meet obligations. To have others treat you kindly, respectfully, with courtesy and a sense of dignity could be all headway you need towards some achievement.

Today, my concern is with a whole range of plans, my desire to travel, the opportunity for remote working from anywhere on the globe, meeting up with my partner, getting married, planning our future together with all the means that help many of our dreams come true. A cloud appears to be in a way of the sunlight of warmth and life to these visions.

I cannot be preoccupied with the clouds; the limitations are momentary, and clouds move on eventually. In the exercise of patience and the assurance of hope that the temporary will always be that and the desires of the heart put into prayer does come true in more fantastical and mind-blowing ways than anticipated, I find new peace, to lie down in green pastures and beside the still waters, this walk through the valley of the shadow of death, will soon be over.

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