Curveball

Almost all of my favorite moments as a kid, and as an adult took place on a ballfield. I turned into a fairly decent coach, but my playing success was limited by the inability to hit the curveball. We are not talking about sometimes, we are talking about all the time. Throw me a fastball, look out. Throw me a curve, back to the dugout I go. Now what is the point of that, other than loving baseball? Simple, baseball is a metaphor for life, just nicely contained between white lines. Life, unfortunately, is not that simple. Most of us struggle with the same shortcomings that I had as a player, the curveball.  If you get objective and think about it, life, itself, is nothing but a series of curveballs.  Most of us can't hit 'em, but we keep swinging. The best in baseball may hit.300, that means they fail over two thirds of the time. Life doesn't give us fastballs, it is all breaking balls, but that is okay. The at bat doesn't matter as much as the next one.  It is okay to know that you can't hit the curve, but every time you step in the box, you pray for the fastball but believe that this time you are going to nail that curve.

Almost everyone I know is dealing with issues of some sort, and they can be overwhelming. Trust me I know what a good butt kicking looks like, from the wrong side. The point is, learning how to handle the curve, that is the essence of life. We hope for fastballs but get curves. The solution, learn to go with the pitch. Whatever life gives you, just get the ball in play, or if all else fails, move the runner or lean in and take it for the team. People are always trying too hard to attach meaning or blame on everything that happens in life.  The ballfield shows you how simple it really is, step up, take your cuts, sometimes you get a hit, most times not, but you get up again and keep swinging. Eventually you get that moment in the sun or the moment of redemption, as the case may be.

This is the rambling of The Legendary Mikey P and therefore terribly important. Think on it.

Peace