I was watching football this past weekend, which I frequently do. But this isn’t about football, so don’t change the channel. It’s about style.
I was thinking about the head coaches in football, and how differently they dress from one another. Of course, when it is bitterly cold outside, they are all hunkered down a bit. But, on the average, they vary widely. Some of them wear sweatshirts and jeans, some wear little color coordinated outfits, some wear a suit and tie.
All of this led me then to basketball, where the coaches mostly wear nice suits. Or hockey. And soccer. While it varies a little from coach to coach, they all wear street clothes. Some of them nicer than others.
And then there is baseball.
What the heck is it with baseball?
The manager, and all the coaches, dress up in little baseball outfits to match the players. Hats and all. I mean, really. What the heck?
Why would they do such a thing? When did this start?
How crazy it would look if the football coaches were over on the sidelines with a helmet and shoulder pads, full-tilt on the uniform, right down to the cleats?
Or basketball, if the head coach wore the tighty shorts and tank tops?
But baseball.
Truly, I think the reason is that they are sort of an “active” part of the game. Two of the coaches go out every inning, to first and third, to coach the bases. And occasionally, the pitching coach, or the manager walks to the mound to have a teensy talk with the poor guy struggling out there. So, on occasion, they are out on the playing field with the team.
In every other sport, the coach is confined to the sidelines. So, that might be it.
Oh to be a part of the game, and what to wear while doing so.
No matter, things always remind me of their parallels in life. From our every day to day of things, mostly, we are not the coaches viewing things from the sidelines, but we are the actual players in the game. In our lives, by the minute, we are in the midst of the action, whether we want to be, or not. It could be making toast, checking out at the grocery, or discussing politics at a community meeting. It could be something much more difficult.
That is how it happens sometimes. We can be on the edges of something, or we can be right at ground zero. One minute, you think you are an innocent bystander, with no intention of becoming involved in a “something.” And there, before you know it, you get propelled right in to the thick of things.
No matter how it goes, every day, we do our best to “suit up.” It doesn’t really matter where we are “standing.” I think the thing that matters is what we are wearing. Our vision of how we want to be in this thing, called the “everyday” of life.
Are we positive or negative, hopeful or downtrodden? Do we walk up to a the “given moment” as patient, mindful, positive? Or are we tense, standoffish and negative? Which way do we prefer to be? Which is more valuable? This is where we decide what to wear.
Sometimes, how we are, will they affect how others are. And that energy will go on and on. From each of us, to another, and another. We suit up today, because we can. Because we try.
===========
One small positive thought can change your whole day.
— Zig Ziglar
===========
The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
— Winston Churchill
==========
The beginning is the most important part of any work.
— Plato
==========
