It was a very moving experience. I stepped into the hallway to stretch at halftime during one of the three high school basketball games that I watched that evening. It was par for the course this entire season. One son played on the Freshman team whose games began at 4:00. The other played in the Junior Varsity games which began at 5:30. Both of the boys were expected by the coaches to watch the Varsity games which began at 7:00. It didn’t make much sense for me to leave and drive back to pick them up, especially for away games. That was a lot of basketball to watch this season, over four hours at least one night per week, often two. Mercifully the season is over.
The Scene
It was the last game of the season, an away game, and from the hallway I could hear loud applause. Over and over again. My curiosity got the best of me and I went back into the gym to see what was going on . There was a game taking place among the home school’s handicap children. It carried on for about ten minutes.
Nothing But Heart
I thought about the game this past weekend and I wondered to myself what aspect of the evening made the largest impact on me. I realized that it was one of the things that separates those children from many adults.
No concerns about missing an attempted shot, mishandling the ball or embarrassing themselves in front of the crowd. They simply played with pure, unadulterated passion and heart.
Authenticity
It’s no wonder they were so impressive. It’s no wonder that the most memorable relationships that I’ve had at the workplace, whether with clients or other Realtors, are those that consisted of genuineness and authenticity. That perspective is the gift that I received from those children last week. They could easily have focused on a number of reasons to not participate in the game, but they would have none of it. If we can only exhibit as much freedom and courage as they do on a daily basis, we would get so much more satisfaction out of our relationships, career and our lives.
What is needed to remain simultaneously passionate and authentic in our lives?
What barriers do we create that impede us from doing so?
