When we are sick and decide to take medicine, there will always be a suggested dosage required considering our level of sickness.
When life threw me a curve ball, my job was to accept the patience and push forward.
Now, when I refer to life throwing me a curve ball, I am referring to a literal curve ball.
What most of you didn't know is that I had a brief stint on the baseball diamond as a teenager. My career didn't last long (1 weekend, 3 games to be exact), but it was a career nonetheless. I will embellish the stories of my playing days for years to come.
In my MJ-like journey on the baseball field, there wasn't many highlights. Although, of the two, Jordan was the better baseball and basketball player, it is safe to say that we were both better at basketball.
That being said, I did pick up some things on the diamond. I learned how to throw properly, the correct way to stand in the batter's box, and most importantly, patience was reinforced as one of my most vital virtues.
Since I was only filling in for a few games, and never played baseball outside of the Xbox, my Coach told me to just relax, be calm and be patient. Knowing the lack of experience, judging by the soccer cleats I was wearing for obvious non-baseball playing reasons, rushing anything definitely was not going to help any of us.
I wouldn't say that I was nervous to play, but I will say that I did want to hit a home-run, which did make me anxious. Not recognizing how unlikely that would be, I was committed to doing so. Although I will probably tell my grand kids one day that I hit several home-runs that weekend, that just was not the case.
I got up to bat twice, and did not swing once. I pretended that I didn't want to hit a grand slam on my first at bats, and took the necessary baby steps, also known as, not knowing how to properly swing. Fortunately for me, I was walked both times, giving me a 1.000 'On Base Percentage' for a career; of course only if I am properly calculating the on base percentage metric, which is highly unlikely.
I stole a few bases, had some outfield runs, and scored a couple times, making story time for my siblings that week overbearingly arrogant.
No one told me that the teams we were playing against were some of the worst in the league, but I've chosen to leave out that detail when discussing my first ballot hall of fame career.
At the end of the day, I had fun. It wasn't because I was doing something that I was accustomed to doing, or even had the desire to do. It was largely due to the fact that my Coach told me not to think. He let me go out there, and play to whatever strengths I had. He made sure I was relaxed and let the game come to me, rather than trying to force.
Even though, I had no game whatsoever, the focus on patience made me believe otherwise. For that, I thank you Coach. My debut could have went a lot worse.
Whenever life throws those figurative or literal curve balls your way, always remain patient. Don't let anything or anyone speed you up. It's just like a car; the faster you go, the harder it is to control. It doesn't hurt to slow down and obey the traffic laws. It's quite beneficial when you do.
Allow yourself to be present in the moment to handle the situation at hand. As always, don't try to control things you cannot control. Leave those things up to what controls them. The patience in our reaction is our responsibility. Don't lose it.
Patience is a virtue. Just ask the soccer cleat wearing baseball player.
Until next time,
Long Live The People
Comments