Count Your Blessings #22 – Sport (but not to serious)

England & Wales win the Ashes and the country goes wild; but in a very British way.

I go out to play tennis and win a game on my very flaky serve and I am ecstatic.

I am so privileged to be able to participate in sports as a leisure activity. There are so many people in this world of ours who have got far more basic things to think about, like where to find clean water. Being in the very  privileged position of having enough I can choose how I use my leisure time, and one of the things that I love to do is to play sport.

I’m not one of these sport junkies who has to get their fix of whatever sport is on. I enjoy my sport, but it’s not really a huge part of my life. One of the main reasons it’s not that dominant is because I’m not actually very good at it. There are four of us who try to play tennis every week, and have done for years. I am easily the weakest of the players, but that doesn’t stop me enjoying it. On a purely rational level I’m not sure why.

Playing sport is part of exploring the fullness of life. As well helping me physically it also exercises the mind and the spirit.

Why does a ball travel like that when I hit it like this; and why when I try it like this does it not do that?

Why does my serve go so much better when I’m not thinking about it. I sometimes sing a song in my head to stop me thinking too much?

Why do I feel refreshed from an our on a tennis court when 30 mins in a gym tires me out?

I suppose it’s about self-discovery.