Playing not to lose

I love watching football (soccer). I take any chance I get to see a match on tv. Sometimes, if a team's winning, they'll just defend for the rest of the game and stop trying to score. Or if a they don't need to win, but only a draw, they'll be conservative and not attack much. Invariably, somebody watching the game will yell and curse at the tv, admonishing the team for "playing not to lose."



When I was an undergrad, long long ago, some friends from my dormitory and I formed a soccer team to play in the university intramural league. None of us had any business whatsoever being on a soccer team. We were horrible. Maybe you've seen movies about ragtag collections of losers gaining magical victories through pure heart alone. That was us--except for the victories. Hippies, geeks, scrawny guys, tubby guys. We'd go out to the soccer field and warm up--doing those painful stretches where you stick your feet up in the air and somebody pushes on your legs until your hamstrings and calf muscles snap into a billion little pieces--and then run around on the field like a bunch of maniacs. We were terrible. It was not uncommon to see our goalkeeper smoking cigarrettes during the game. And we would lose, 5-0...7-0...12-0. As the season drew to a close, we decided we would reward anybody on our team who finally scored with a case of beer. Sadly, nobody ever collected that reward! But it was all so much fun. We did it, every week, even though we sucked....even though we hadn't a chance in hell of ever winning a game, just for joy.



I sometimes find myself being conservative, cautious, and defensive in life, mistaking this for being "strategic." What a foolish way to approach each day. So now at the end of the day, as I'm preparing for bed, I ask myself, "Today, in the game of life, did you play to "win?" Did you play for joy, regardless of the outcome? Or did you play not to lose?"

The campus is flooded...with baby squirrels!!! They're everywhere--frolicking about, munching away on acorns. They aren't the slightest bit afraid of us humans. Meanwhile, I spend my day driving around town, my blood boiling because i almost got into 2 wrecks or a bird crapped on my shoulder. Such a waste of time and energy.

見て。自分の心の中を見て。

花が咲いている。

日が輝いている。

寝る世が起きている。

春が未だ来たことを

見取れないか？

Let's get this party started right!

Wow, I always thought that blogs were lame, and that I'd never do one because who the hell wants to hear my opinions or the boring details of my life? But, I'm gonna give it a try and see if I was right. I hope my friends will check it out and leave me messages. I've never done this before, so forgive me if it looks low-fi!!!!

SO, If you find yourself reading this blog, (1) I'm sorry 'cause you're really gonna be bored and (2) Thanks for coming! You're a true friend!