Baseball

I have been hesitating to use an analogy because I think it is over simplified and does not convey the basic point that I want to get across. Then, I got to share it last night with a friend and she understood liked it, so here we go.

Sometimes I feel like the world is like baseball. If I don't understand any of the rules: where to stand, why to even try to hit the ball, whom to throw to and when, or what the little white squares are for; then the entire thing seems confusing, uninteresting, and almost scary. I mean, you can get along by learning to try and catch the ball anytime it is in the air. Or when you see someone running their heart out and you have the ball, to throw it to the guy calling for it. So you can skim by but understanding rules eventually means to be the 1st baseman giving off the right signals to the new people on the field to throw the ball to you.

Now the game is 'making sense'. You aren't sure why we are playing in the first place but you understand how to 'make it'. But this isn't all.

Many that I know or have met are still 'skimming by' in the game and some are playing fully and there are a few who are all-stars. There is still something more. Just by being in it for a certain amount of time you begin to realize that there is something else going on. You think you have a situation or at bat under control. You think that it is just any other at bat. Then, out of no where you get out and you can't understand how you 'screwed it up'. You see these other people who are on the sidelines observing and making weird motions.

Then you ask. You get turned down. You ask. You get turned down. Then either you ask again and they help you understand or you have an epiphany. There is strategy behind all of this?! There is a bigger goal than just getting people out? There is a bigger goal than just ME getting on and around the bases? Oh what?! I should sacrifice my chance this time up to help that guy on the white bag all the way over there to score?? Why should I do that?

After all these things are asked then comes the beauty that only comes with understanding, clarity, and humbleness. You understand so much now and you are thankful for being able to see how complex it is. It is so complex and you could never understand all of the intricacies of it. Weird paradox but you begin to see the real beauty that had gone unseen for so long. These few are the lucky few.

Your motions seem like no sense and no one outside of that knowledge understands why, what, or how you do it all. Then, there is me, as a normal player. One that has a natural love for the game. I am honestly glad that I even get to be on the field and smell the grass. How much more great will it be when the period in my life comes where I am the guy on the sidelines: watching, enjoying, and making crazy motions. All done with a smile on my face.