We rowed in a regatta in Vancouver, Washington, recently: the Northwest Regionals. This event provides our team with its toughest competition all year. All the crews from all up and down the west coast are there.
Our team did super well. A competitor from Los Gatos Rowing Club asked me "how do you account for your incredible showing?" and I said "great coaching, great teammates, lots of commitment."
Parishioners wanted to know how I did. "Did you get a gold medal?" they asked. The truth was, this wasn't a great regatta for me personally. Oh yes, I got one silver, but the boats I was in also had some major disappointments.
As I reflected on this weekend, and made every effort to cheer for my team, if not congratulate myself, I thought about Caroline Myss's idea of "an act of invisible power." Her question is, in being generous to another, can we actually be so generous such that we help the other succeed beyond all our dreams? Beyond us?
Her example: we might lend money to a friend in extreme financial difficulty, but would we lend the same money so that the person could make their passion happen, for example, open a small business?
So my question this past weekend was, "can I be enthusiastic and supportive of my teammates so that they do even better than we might imagine, when I myself am having a bad day?" It wasn't easy to answer or to live into. I tried hard but didn't always succeed. But it is a VITAL question!
1 comment:
But did you have the best hair?
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