As I was reading
my news this morning (don’t have the stomach to watch any more), I was naturally drawn to the quagmire that is
the U.S. government shut down that screams to me from the headlines. (I can’t read the sports, as the Saints
suffered a heartbreaking defeat on Sunday!)
As my eyes went from headline to headline, I began to notice how they
were all about winning or losing. So the
“right” was winning/losing because… or the "left" was winning/losing because…
Then the articles about the current negotiations again winning and losing… I don’t
want to weigh in on the topics themselves as that would add more fuel to a fire
that is well out of control; however the concept of competition with the main
goal of winning really struck me.
My thoughts immediately
went to “this is ridiculous”, can’t saner heads prevail? Why must everything be seen in the context of
competition? It then dawned on me that
this is a quintessential human trait, competition. Winners and losers, saving or losing face or victory
and defeat. I am equally as guilty of
this, as I am often defined as “competitive with air”, meaning I never met a competition
I wasn’t ready for.
I sat with these thoughts and realized that our current American government is merely a reflection of ourselves. I sit in my home and expect our elected representatives to rise above the fray, yet I do not. Are our elected representatives just reflecting back to us what we ourselves expect? I understand and relish in the idea of a good game, but I now see that life has become a blood sport. We have moved from the fun of the game (competition) to winning at all cost. It’s no longer about the glass being half full or half empty; it’s about smashing the glass.
I continue
to ponder these ideas and look inside myself for ways I participate. Obviously my great love of our NFL team comes
to mind, but I try to look deeper. Do I try
to meet you where you are? Do I extend an
open hand and not a fist? Do I turn the
other cheek when struck on one side? These seem to be eternal questions.
I sit and
breathe in the morning sun and air I ask: Does the sun compete with the moon or does it
simply rise as expected? Is the moon
loosing as the morning appears or is it simply moving to its proper place? Is either winning? Losing?
I realize
that nature again has led me back to me.
There is a time for the moon and a time for the sun, each ebb and flow
within their rightful place; allowing each to shine and glow, neither taking, receiving
or needing anything from each other to be magnificent. I begin to feel the joy of the tie that bind
us all, human.
So with
that, it is my greatest wish that today in some small way I can take a step
back from the abyss of competition to experience, all that this human
experience has to offer, our glass and all intact.
