Five Lessons from the Thai Cave Rescue

I have yet to meet a person who has not heard about what has been in the news about the 12 members of a youth football (soccer) team in Thailand who were lost in a cave.  For 17 days we have been hearing about fear, the worry, and finally the wonderful news of the successful rescue and the ability for the children to soon be reunited with their families.  I found myself tuning in every day, using social media to find live updates, started checking all the media outlets to check the tally as the boys were coming out, and reached out to friends when I heard the news that all 13 were rescued.  It touched everyone in many ways and it brought the world together to cheer for something and hope for something better. 

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​I was struck by how our society, and world, reacted and responded to this chain of events.  Our connection to each other during this time gave me goosebumps.  We all watched, together, as the chain of events unfolded until the eventual (mostly) happy ending was announced earlier this week.

​It amazing what can be taken away from this experience.  There are so many positive life lessons that can be applied towards how we view the world.  Here are just a few examples of what we can take away from this 17 day journey.

• Heroism knows no age:  the boys were early teenagers, the coach was 25, the boy from who translated English for the rescue was 14, the Thai Navy Seal who was lost was 38… and the list goes on.  Being a hero is being someone willing to step up and step in.  The desire to see – and be – better for yourself and those you care for is where heroes are born.  No one needed special lessons.  No one needed to be asked.  We can all be heroes.

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• Never give up:  When the story first broke that these young boys and their coach were missing, we all felt a pit in our stomachs fearing the worst.  How many times do we hear awful stories like this with terrible endings?  These young ones reminded us to keep pushing.  From the children and their coach to the search parties to the rescue service personnel….  17 long days where finding them wasn’t possible, food was scare, flooding was anticipated, rescue options were harrowing, and illness was a concern….  No one gave up.  Not the searchers, not the rescue teams, not the families, and especially not these brave 13. 

• Find your inner peace/center:  It doesn’t matter if you are religious, or not.  Finding a way to meditate and find your inner peace is key when challenges and problems surround you.  There has been a lot of commentary on the meditation techniques used by the soccer coach to help keep the boys calm and focused so they were all finally found.  12 young boys were able to meditate thanks to the skills taught by their 25 year old coach.  Can you imagine how scary that was?  Water coming in, dark at night, running out of food, cold and alone, and no idea if anyone would ever find them…. And what of their friends/families as they waited not knowing what would happen?

• Have something to look forward to:  I was touched when i heard about the letters from the boys to their loved ones.  One story in particular made me chuckle as one of the boys reminded his parents to prepare for his birthday party.  He had something to look forward to!  He had purpose.  What is your reason to push through today’s pain?  What is your goal?

• There is hope for humanity:  Here in the US the divisiveness is obvious wherever we go.  But we all seemed to unite in our desire to see these children survive.  We shared, we updated each other, and we celebrated every ounce of every small victory experienced.  It gives us faith that through all our surface division there is still an underlying unity that keeps us bonded.  We need to push to look more for what unites us rather than dividing us. 

​As the days, weeks, and months unfold the stories will continue and we will get a better understanding of how truly fantastic this story is. We should only hope that we will all continue to learn, grow, and appreciate all that these courageous people, both in and out of the cave, have taught us.  I hope that we all push to apply these lessons to our futures.
There is hope.  Thank you, world, for showing us that.