If It Goes Away

Greetings from Mentor, Ohio; home of the Lake County Captains.
 
        The Silverhawks have gotten off to a fairly decent start to the second half of the season, splitting its first six games with the Whitecaps (3-3).  We are now in Mentor and taking on the Lake County Captains (Cleveland Indians) for three more games, before heading home for a bit.  As of yesterday, David Holmberg was promoted to Visalia, so we will be getting a replacement today.  I wish him all of the luck, as he is a great guy, with a load of talent.

        I have to start by apologizing for my absence the last week and a half, or so, things were a little hectic around these parts (with the all-star break, a visitor, and all).  However, I have been able to muster up some good deep thoughts that I want to share with you all.
        Over the past week this idea of what if something I take for grated was to all of the sudden go away.  There have been a couple of instances that I have encountered this week that has really made me take a step back and analyze what I cherish in life, and put a new light on it.  I feel fortunate because a lot of times such things happen before we actually get to look at it like this, so I thought I might pose it to everyone else so they can look at some things before they might go away for you.  It doesn't have to be the big, or small, there are no rules on this, but really what do you cherish?  If you cherish it have you been expressing it and make sure you don't take it for granted?
        One of the instances this past week that has posed this idea in my head is one of my best friends had his girlfriend lose a parent.  Now I'm not saying she took this relationship for granted at all, it just made me realize that maybe I need to make sure my parents always know how I feel about them, or to always make a little bit of extra time for them.  I couldn't imagine losing my parents now, or ever, and to have to go through that would be devastating.  My heart is out there with him and her at this time, and I pray the best for them.  Again, what if it was to just go away?
        Another situation, not as serious, was when Nicole left for Greece last Monday, and all of the sudden I couldn't talk to her on the phone.  Like I said, not a huge deal, but still when you care about someone that much and you enjoy the sound of their voice, to not get that luxury makes you take a step back.  First of all, I commend anyone who made a relationship last pre-technology era.  Second of all, it makes me realize how fortunate I am to have a girlfriend who is willing to put in the time and effort it takes to be apart from each other.  I was able to make it without talking to her because I knew she was having a blast while she was over there, but again what if you woke up tomorrow and didn't have the opportunity to talk to someone you love?
        I'll leave you with this thought today, the littlest things in life can cause us the most agony; and sometimes the biggest things in life can cause the same amount of pain.  So please, before you can't, take a step back in life and look at everything you have.  Make sure you are giving everything ample attention , and if you aren't ask yourself what if it went away?

Happy Brain Cell Hunting,

Finding Your Paradise

             The last week has been rough for the Silverhawks, as we went 1-5 on our recent 6 day road trip.  We are now looking at 5 games between first place and us with 6 games left in the half.  However, we are only 4.5 games out of the playoffs with our last 6 games against teams that are ahead of us.  If we take care of our business, and have some other teams misfortunes go our way, there is still a chance for us to make it this first half.

            When the world begins to speed up, life starts to seem out of control, and you feel like you might be at wits end; how do you bring it all back?  It’s about the ability to put all things in perspective and take a look at the big picture.  Where do you go to do this…Where do you find your inner paradise?

            The joy of life is that there is no manual telling you how to do things, or how to live.  Thus, everyone has his or her own way of finding a place to retreat to and slow it all down.  Some people may sleep, some may go to the beach, some may ride their motorcycle, Personally, I like to escape to somewhere where I feel like I’m just a fly on the wall. 

In the last couple of years I have found this easiest to do by taking in all that nature has to offer us.  Sometimes I just take off on a run through some trails, sometimes I take pictures of different places that seem serene, and sometimes I just sit and watch nature happen in front of me.  Either way it always seems to show me just how little all of my problems are.  There is always so much more going on around, and to get so consumed in personal issues that you cannot see everything else is a crime.  There is so much out there for us, we should embrace the opportunity. 

Again, each of us is entitled to our own personal paradise, but don’t be afraid to try some other paradises too and maybe you will find one that suits you better than you would have expected.  What is your paradise (if you feel like indulging)?

May your travels push the limits of acceptance,