Play Each Ball

“I suck!”

A few weeks ago, my friend, Quinton, was kicking my butt in tennis. And I was pissed. Not at him, but at myself.

We’d been playing almost every week since the beginning of summer. At first it was a rediscovery for both of us. Neither of us had played in a while–in my case it had been something like 10 years since I’d played.

The first couple of weeks were awesome. Sheer joy. It didn’t matter to us who won or lost. We were caught up in the fun of whacking tennis balls back and forth.

So what had changed?

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200K

On Monday night, the odometer in my car flipped from 199,999 to 200,000 miles.

I’d been watching it for days, determined to see this milestone. Determined to not miss it like I’d missed all the others:

We Fall Down

Yesterday I went to see my friend Jim sing in the Higher Ground event at the First United Methodist Church in Germantown. But to call it a church is a little misleading. Aside from the architecture, it was unlike any church I’d been to. Instead of being somber and serious, the energy was playful and uplifting.

About a third of the way through the event, a teenage girl got up on stage to sing Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” (that should give you a good idea of what kind of church this was).

She hadn’t even finished the first verse and the microphone slipped out of the mic holder. She was already nervous, and this unexpected problem pushed her over the edge. She stopped singing and started to cry.

Trust vs. Fear: How Safe Do You Feel?

A fundamental question that we all must answer for ourselves is this: Do I live in a universe that is safe or unsafe?

In other words, do you trust that the events in your life are for the best and that all of your needs will be met? Or are you afraid that they won’t?

I had a first date about a week ago with a woman I met online that put this question front and center for me.

We’d exchanged many fun, interesting, and playful emails prior to our date. And we’d had two great telephone conversations–both of which only ended because it got so late we had to get to sleep. So I was excited and optimistic to meet her in person.

And when we did, our date was a blast. We went for a beautiful hike, talked non-stop for about six hours, joked and laughed. But the next day she tells me she’s not interested.

Now you have to understand that on paper we were perfect for each other. Our interests, our values, our spiritual beliefs, our rapport–it was all a great fit. What went wrong?