My Escape of Joy!

Length of Shower:  That was a shower?  I thought it was an after game shower in a huge locker room --Sports are a big business in this country.  The NFL makes something around $9 Billion a year, and Major League Baseball, as well as the NBA, make around $4 to $6 Billion each year.  But few people actually get to play in those leagues.  However, one of the most popular sports that regular people get to play in the US each year is one of my favorites:  Softball.

Softball to me is more than just a sport.  It's a release, an escape, a passion, a workout for mind and body, and an excuse to spend time with some of the best friends I have.  When I'm out there on the field the rest of my life has to sit on the sidelines and wait.  I feel lighter when I play because I can check all my problems and issues in the dugout and just focus on one thing; playing ball.  I feel younger, too, when I play.  I remember my youth and the pure joy of actually "playing" something.  Back when we made up rules in our backyards, or tried to play with a soccer ball because we couldn't find a baseball or softball.  There is a sense of joy that I put on like a refreshingly clean and soft blanket made just for me.

Of course there is a competitiveness to it as well, and I love that too.  Unlike life sometimes, there is an opponent you can see and point out and make strategies to defeat.  And then there are the individual battles that you get to fight and figure out how to overcome like each time at bat and each ball hit your way.  And the best part is knowing that win or lose it is all over in about 90 minutes.

I play on four softball teams because of all these reasons and more.  And while I doubt that most people get all this out of a simple game of softball, I do hope that everyone has some form of escapism that they can resort to when needed.  While doctors may not agree with me, I think that a healthy balance in a person's life can't be reached without an equally healthy amount of positive escapism.  I'm not talking about avoiding your problems, but I am talking about what Dr. Marvin prescribed to Bob in the movie "What About Bob?"....and that is to take a vacation from your problems.  Taking a break, even from our problems and worries, can be healthy and enriching and in some cases can even provide a new perspective when we return to our problems and thus help solve them.

So go ahead and get out that special book, or fall away into that TV show, or finish sewing that sweater tonight without the stress or judgement of escaping your problems...because in the end it is only a small coffee break so you can gain some needed perspective and momentum to tackle your biggest issues.  Who needs those big salaries the pro ball players get when we get something even more important when we pick up a bat and ball...less worry, not more like them.