WINNING AND LOSING

 

It is cloudy and cold out. However, this cold snap is not going to be as intense as the last one. It is forecast to get down to 9 below zero F tomorrow night. That is not much. I don't mind the cold. I go out in my shirtsleeves when it is below zero, but it makes my chores more difficult. The ice freezes solid in the chicken coop. I have to give the sheep just the amount they will drink or go out and spill the excess out to avoid having to knock the ice out of the bucket the next Morning. If it stays above 10 degrees F things are easier. The chores are no big deal in any case. I think the greatest strain is worrying about the pipes under the sink. We will have that problem remedied next year. I hope.

Then we have a geo-thermal heat system, which is great, I would recommend it to anyone. However, I think our unit may be too small for our house. It is perfect in temperatures down to -10 F but it seems to work too hard when it gets colder than that or when it hovers around zero for days at a time. If we were happy with a house temperature of 68 degrees it would probably do, however, we like it warmer.

So we fire up one of our wood stoves to supplement. This means hauling toboggan loads of wood up to the house everyday. Perhaps I wouldn't mind if I wasn't an octogenarian and a lazy one at that.

I am not really in a blog writing mood this Morning. I don't want to torment the reader with my trivia. But I will.

I used to be a football fan. I followed the Vikings. I just enjoyed the game of football. I loved playing it. Winning or losing was never the issue. Of course I preferred winning over losing, but it was never a big deal. I could be very excited over winning and disappointed upon losing, however the disappointment never lasted long. I would never give up on the team and never quit watching because they looked destined to lose.

Things changed. It happened after a game in 1999 or 2000, around there anyway. We lost a play-off game by missing a chip shot field goal. For some reason I cared like I hadn't before. Winning or losing was never the biggest issue for me. Since then I haven't enjoyed watching games as much, as I was too concerned about winning. This is especially disconcerting to someone, who would like to think of himself as spiritually evolved enough, as not to fret when their team is losing.

I have watched the Vikings off and on this year and I decided to take in yesterday's game. When we were 17 points ahead at the half I turned on a different station to watch the news, I misjudged the time and when I switched back to the game the score was 17 to 7 and New Orleans was knocking on the door. Holy cow, what a turn around. The score went back and forth and with 20 seconds left New Orleans kicked a field goal and were ahead one point. Okay! I have to admit it. I couldn't stand it. What were we going to do in 20 seconds? Another painful loss! I won't watch it.

A few minutes later I saw a notice on Facebook that the Vikings won. A pass was made to a receiver with the idea that he was to step out of bounds and stop the clock to set up a field goal attempt. When the receiver realized there were no defenders in front of him he ran for a 64 yard touchdown. Wow! I missed an amazing event.

But the larger question is, why is it so hard to appreciate the game for the games sake and not be so into winning and losing? I used to be able to do it. I like competition when it is fun. When it quits being fun I don't like it. I would like to watch the next game without investing whatever I invested in this last one. Am I a lesser person when my team loses? Is this a struggle for who is most loved? Why is winning so important?

We are all one. Both teams are equally lovable. Why can't we just have fun and celebrate both the winner and loser?

I need to ponder this. I know I don't really care. I know I don't want to care for more than the moment. I didn't used to. I need to grow. I need to see the love in everything.

Happy Monday!

Love and Peace, Gregg