Here it is! The BIG game is here! No, I am not talking about the NBA Finals or the College World Series. It is not fall, so Husker Football is not in full swing, either. So, what BIG game am I talking about? The one you overlook every day. The game that means the most to you. There is no instant replay or official that decides how the game will play out. No one is sitting on the bench, itching for their chance to play and there is no second or third string to come in a play for you while you rest. Still don’t know?
The biggest game you will ever play in is the game of LIFE. Some of us never take full advantage of the chance we have, because we cautiously wait on the sidelines, waiting for the coach to call our number. Guess what? There is no coach. You will wait forever. Seriously. Maybe we run around the track — the same oval with the same distance — forgetting how many times we have seen the same landscape as they pass. They don’t even know why they are doing it — auto pilot has taken over and they are like hamsters running around a plastic wheel…running around in circles, but not even knowing why. But what if I told you that neither one of those has to be you. Every day, we make a choice. We may not even know it because the choice doesn’t seem to be a choice. We delay what we really want and hide our true heart. Some of us are good players, but don’t really put anything else into it. It takes too much work. We have become a society of “Get the best, quickest, easiest way we can.” We feel this sense of entitlement and that someone owes us something, and there is some truth to that. But our problem is that we look to others to pay up. Why don’t we ever look to ourselves first? This game of life doesn’t mean more to anyone else than it does us. That’s the truth and we all know it. But we wait. We excuse. We make it fit. This game is YOUR game — no one is going to play it like YOU do and no one is going to love it more than YOU do! For too many years, I was on the sidelines. I will admit it — I was afraid to “get in there” and play. When I did play, I did so quietly…I didn’t want the attention. (Update — still not a fan of any attention — even if it is good.) But I have gotten to where I am because I chose to play — hard, committed, and with every thing I have. I am going to fall on my face, and I am going to brush myself off and keep going.
There are three types of people in this world:
1. People who are too afraid to do anything. The ones that create drama just to have something exciting to talk about. Maybe the ones who won’t admit that it’s been two weeks since they last vacuumed their house. The ones that can’t admit that they want something more, but can’t even bring themselves to the point of making that change.
2. People who are lost. The ones that run around in circles, not even understanding why. They are robots in human form. They follow the crowd, and never even question where the crowd is going. They just move, like fish in a school that don’t know who leads or who follows. They have no clue about what happens next.
3. People who are living! These people are excited about every day and appreciate the opportunity to play in their own game! They bring energy and enthusiasm and electricity around complete strangers as well as friends they have known forever.
Which one are you? If you are not who you want to be, it is never too late to change how the game is played. We are all running on a time clock that never tells us when the game is over. It is for that reason that we have to play hard every damn day. You want something different? Do something different. It is not complicated. GAME ON!
Michelle A. Homme 2014 ©
