One of my colleagues recently wrote that she loved to play baseball. She wrote that when she was a batter, she would scan the field to see where there were weaknesses and then would move her body into the correct angle to hit the ball to that location. I questioned whether women or men who were playing for fun would be so calculated. So I checked it out with both Rev Pattie who has played in the past. She said. of course, that is what she would do. Rev. Karyn, who is a great baseball fan and a superior player said that she would adjust her swing according to the way the ball was pitched to her!
All three of these women amazed me! Of course, they are using pure Principle! See it in your mind’e eye, plan it and then do it! What I remember from having to play softball in elementary or high school, had nothing to do with a strategy of where to hit the ball. I would pry hat I would not have to go to bat. (Just like I prayed that none of the balls would ever come as deep in Center field as I would be standing.) First I would be very relieved when I didn’t get up to bat. Second I would pray that I would make contact with the ball so I wouldn’t be swinging and missing. My greatest hope was to make it through the game without being humiliated! To PLAN where the ball would go was out of my frame of reference! To carry out that PLAN, would be complete fantasy! I had never contemplated that one could have a strategic plan when playing a ball game. (Of course, I had strategies from a very young age for winning at cards or monopoly.)
But there I was, planning to fail… and succeeding at it!
What a great example of building a “great” tomorrow today. I usually got exactly what I feared because that is the nature of the Law of Mind. I didn’t have one minute of joy while I was on a ball team… and I dare say that none of my fellow players had a great time with me there either. Talk about Debbie Downer! No wonder I was chosen last to be on a team.
Obviously I lacked skill, but the real damage was done by my lousy attitude; I had a mental equivalent of failure, always looming over my head. But since that is how I perceived ball games, how could it have been any different?
I wonder if I had developed some interest in the game itself, I might have evolved into a better player. The greater question is do I have a strategic plan for my life? Am I planning to fail? Am I failing to plan?
Today, I don’t think it is necessary for me to be a great player of softball, baseball or slow pitch. In fact, I think I can lead a very happy life and fulfilled life, without picking up a ball, without hearing the words, “Batter up!” again, without ever being on another team for the rest of my life. But what can lead to a happier, healthier life, is having a greater appreciation of myself and others from these conversations.
There are a couple of ways to explore this. First, to notice what I am afraid to do, what I am afraid will happen and what I am avoiding because I do not want to face the fear. I could go a step further and ask the people who are doing the things that terrify me, how have they overcome their fears. ( I know that some people have not conquered their fears, they have simply decided to walk right through those fears.)
The second way to look at this is to develop a beginner’s mind; to explore with curiosity and kindness how other people achieve their dreams. Have the successful ones simply been lucky to be in the right place at the right time? Or have the happy, healthy, successful ones done something different? Have they befriended themselves, set some goals and set clear intentions for their lives? What do they do when they fail? Do they quit? Do they learn from their failures? Do they laugh at themselves? Do they take themselves lightly? Are they fiercely determined to understand themselves? Do they know their strengths? Do they embrace their weaknesses?
I can use this information to have a greater appreciation for our own skills and talents. When it comes so the game of life, get in the game. Life is calling you. “Batter up! Play ball!”