NCAA March Madness. One team wins and the rest lose their final game of the year
20,000 runners start the Chicago Marathon Only one crosses the finish line first, leaving 19,999 losers. Some don’t even finish the race
50 women compete in the Miss America contest, which produces one perfect beauty and 49 plain Janes
Kids participate in sports today and everybody gets a participation trophy. But in later life, the shock will come when they learn they lose more than they win.
Oddly, there are situations where high performers miss more than they connect. A baseball player who hits 300 is a star. That stat means he fails 70 percent of the time.
The best hockey players miss 4-5 shots for every one they make. I guess the only players who aren’t total losers are the goalies.
And think about soccer – those losers run all over the field and hardly ever make a score.
Losing…failing…seems to be all part of life. And then you die.
It would be a truly miserable existence – if we accept the description of winning and losing I’ve presented.
Very few win it all, and sometimes those who do are blinded by their success and miss the things that really matter: hope, faith, love, mercy, forgiveness, sacrifice, humility.
Every person is a sinner. We are humbled (or at least should be) by our imperfections, shortcomings and failures. No matter how hard we try, we mess up.
Because of this, how blessed we are to have our Catholic faith. We receive mercy and forgiveness we don’t merit, that was earned for us by the Son of God.
Some things I’m happy to lose: shame, guilt, fear, anger, resentment, self-pity. Losing can be beautiful.
The longer I live and the more I sin, go to confession, sin some more, confess some more…the more I think the losses I have experienced have allowed me to win at the most important game of life: accepting myself, loving myself, know that I’m a child of God.
And I’ve finally come to terms with the sad fact that I’m never going to be a rock star.
