A Clean Sweep

Paul Gross once said, ~It's not just a rock. It's forty-two pounds of polished granite, with a beveled underbelly and a handle a human being can hold. Okay, so in and of itself it looks like it has no practical purpose, but it's a repository of possibility. And, when it's handled just right, it exacts a kind of poetry - as close to poetry as I ever want to get. The way it moves.... Not once, in everything I've done, have I ever felt the same wonder and humanity as when I'm playing the game of curling.~ Without a doubt, life and the Winter Olympic sport of Curling are in a sense synonymous with each other in such a way it has the propensity to capture your attention in a deeply compelling way. How? Well, we can at times become so transfixed at what's in front of us we'll find ourselves either falling short, being right on the mark, or sliding past one's hopes/goals/dreams we're targeting to achieve.

As said before, life and curling are synonymous with each other because in both areas we all strive to reach intended hopes/goals/dreams only to possibly fall short, be right on the mark, or slide past what we've been targeting/aiming to achieve. Thinking about it further, we all start off at the quintessential "hog line" holding the 42 pounds of polished granite with a beveled underbelly representing the hold and being able to handle our own aspirations in hopes of directing them to where you want them to go. True, it can be an oftentimes tough and frustrating situation indeed to fall short at the shots taken concerning certain aspects of life one presumably has a handle on. However, if you're a true curling competitor of life you go back to the start knowing full well you at least have a 2nd, 3rd, or whatever number of chances to get it done.

If you think about it, when it comes to the path between life and achieving our hopes/dreams/goals it may not always be a smooth slide towards where each one of us want to be. Essentially, that's where our teammates of best buds/gal pals come into play, so to speak, who represent the strong support system in helping/assisting to sweep away the dirt or should I say absolute dirty negativity blocking your way. Hey, it's your "teammates" who always have your back shouting positive words of encouragement and drowning out the negativity of any haters expecting/waiting for failure to happen. Of course, it's what you want in a teammate who genuinely cares and looks out for you. What it primarily comes down to is having the right teammates by your side who'll be there for their "Skip" knowing you'll be there for them no matter what.

Let me ask this question to those who have watched the Winter Olympic sport of curling, do you think it seemingly looks easy enough to try and even go so far as to actually form a team of your own to compete? Granted, even though it may look easy it's a deceptively difficult sport to navigate through, which is how life can be like sometimes. I think it's safe to say if you're on the outside looking in you're for the most part there as a spectator of sorts being a witness to an individual(s) life only to find what you're seeing is in fact an unfortunate misconception of what it truly is. You see, unless you're in the proverbial know and right there in the icy trenches with broom in hand sweeping alongside your teammates then you have no earthly idea of the reasons behind wanting to win, in a manner of speaking, those meaningful life points.

In retrospect, the game of curling otherwise known as life is filled with an odd mixture of thrilling drama, quiet suspense, calm intensity of excitement, stress related insanity and not to mention unpredictable fun. Yet, despite that aforementioned odd mixture it's a life that somehow draws people in as a totally compelled spectator and at the same time having absolutely no clue what they're looking at. Anyways, I digress. Balance, focus, patience, knowing when to back off, the determination to keep going, trusting your instincts, taking the wisdom/advice of those around you into consideration, etc. are ultimately considered key factors/strategies in potentially scoring major life points. In the end, I say to you, may the icy surface you're playing on be a smooth one void of dirty obstacles and every goal you're sliding towards be a clean sweep.