# The day after England lost to Poland

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-england-poland-school-gloom
- Themes: expectations, desire, sport, disappointment
- Life situations: sports disappointment, unmet expectations, taking defeats personally

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

As a 22-year-old teacher, Ajahn Brahm watches England fail to qualify for the World Cup after Poland's late goal. Next day all 900 pupils and the staff are so depressed there are no discipline problems at all — over a football match.

## The story, as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)

One of the experiences I had as a kid, no not as a kid, I was a school teacher, twenty two, just before I went off to Thailand to become a monk, and this is very apt right now because this was World Cup in 1972, 73? Must have been 72. 74? It was World Cup, I don't know. Anyway, around that time. I will never forget this, it was a qualifying match, England versus Poland. Remember I was English. We were watching it on the TV. England only needed to draw to go through to the finals. And it was a close match, they were winning 1 - 0 and at the last moment, Poland scored. And England got knocked out. There was a match, it was a good match, exciting and I enjoyed it. Next day I went to school, all the kids, there were nine hundred kids in that school, and all the staff were all looking down at the floor. You know kids are usually, you know teenagers are usually sometimes naughty in class, this day there was no discipline problems at all because they just couldn't bear to be naughty, they were just so depressed. And I thought it's a bloomin' football match, what are you getting depressed about, it's only soccer, why are you going to spoil a whole day about that?

## Teaching point

Excessive desires and expectations — asking the world for what it can't give — produce needless depression.

## Reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)

A whole school of nine hundred children and their teachers moped through a day because of one late goal against Poland. It was only football. We often ask the world for what it can't promise, a win, a perfect partner, a body that never ages, and then feel let down. Enjoy the match, cheer loudly, and let the result go.

## Source

- [Depression | Ajahn Brahm | 25-06-2010](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N_jjY7W_fs) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 41:08 to 42:31: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N_jjY7W_fs&t=2468s