A short night of sleep got the best of me during morning basketball today. My general belief is that athletic performance is only mildly affected by sleep, compared with mental activities. A lack of shuteye does (as documented many times on Hidden Blog) affect my emotional state though. Less then ten minutes in, a wayward pass to me under the hoop caused me scrambling into a collision with another player. I decided that he was deliberately impeding me and, during the next trip down court, happened to end up guarding him with the ball. I took about ten manic swings at "the ball," perfectly within the edge of the rules but admittedly a little psycho. It's what happens when the world becomes too narrow and self-centered - if my focus had been on a greater cause like playing my best, hustling for the team or just getting healthy exercise then the moment would have passed innocently.
Until and unless some magical voice tells me more clearly, one of the closest senses of purpose I experience is validation from my peers. This week a couple of co-workers gave some sincere appreciation for my teaching and leadership experiences. I wouldn't consider my career remarkable, but to have influenced someone in a positive way does help the days along with a tad more gusto.
Today was clean-up day around the condominium complex. About a dozen neighbors teamed up to sweep, organize, and seal the property. The traditional communal lunch that follows is always a high point, munching on sub sandwiches from La Gondola under pleasant, breezy, slightly overcast skies. Then as the sun peeked through in the late afternoon, and I sat poolside with Tony Dungy's book, it was one of those golden experiences - surveying the beautified environment, stretched out and enriching the mind with the words of a highly spiritual man.
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