Inspirational Blog Posts

I discovered pickle ball in the new year of 2017 and it is a good fit for me. I like hitting the ball, the sound it makes, playing with a partner similar to tennis with smaller rackets and a ball with holes in it. It is a new way to connect with community of all ages, move and just play.

After being out of town for a week, I returned to the courts. We have been dealing with smoke from the BC wild fires and I observed a haze within myself too. I kept loosing every game I played. I would tell myself, it is O.K., I learn from my mistakes, it is not about winning, it’s about having fun. Granted sometimes I am out of my league as most of the people have been playing for much longer than I. As the week progressed and I continued to loose, I would try to pep myself up by thinking, fail big, see how many games you can loose, go for a loosing record, ha ha, I attempted to be amused.

At the same time, I am asking myself what is going on with me? I take time to meditate. Plenty is going on. This is what I see: I need to increase my grounding connection to the earth in order to keep up with the speed at which we are experiencing change on our planet. The wild fires and other natural disasters is one way our planet is communicating with us. I need my grounding to release fear and pain, otherwise, I tend to want to escape and leave my body. It is pretty simple. One needs to be present to play Pickle ball or do anything successfully. Analyzing what is happening only slows down the process of letting go of that which is not working for me. I play better when I do not think about it.

By Friday morning I had lost every game I played since Monday. At times, I identified with being like a dark cloud and privately cried, not because of pickle ball. I was aware of some old familiar pattern that I wish to unravel. My inner voice says “have faith”. I use my spiritual techniques to rise above my emotions and operate as spirit. I remember that I am spirit, quite different from my body and yet able to communicate and work with it. Today in my meditation, I saw competition. It can be fun to have a place to compete for a win at a game. Competition is a body energy and Pickle ball may be a healthy outlet for it. As spirit, I experience the competition as a block to my creativity and ability to validate myself. I began to let go of competition and expectations and allow self acceptance, what a relief. The best validation is that which comes from within. This is the win! On this Friday, I broke my loosing streak in three out of seven games, enjoying myself and community amongst the evergreens at the park. This shift in perspective is a reminder to keep going to know the light within that guides us. A small external success could be the reflection of a larger internal change in the making, or vice versa. The smoke has blown away and the sky is clear again.