Dear Tom:
When life seems to be swirling around like a blitzing linebacker darting around prior to the snap, I think about some admonitions from my offensive tackle football days. I hear my coaches yelling, “stay focused” and “center.” The whole idea was to ignore all the preliminary motion, the calls from the opposing side, and the crowd noise. The opponent wanted me to jump offside, or get confused and miss my assignment. My centering, when it worked, was both physical and mental. Physically, I would set myself, using a solid base. A moving mountain didn’t have a chance if I was centered in my stance ready to spring forth like a coiled snake. (Suzy says, “Enough already. You were never a coiled snake, more like a giant walrus on a rock.”) Mentally, I drowned out all outside noise. I shut out all exterior distractions and centered all my thoughts on my zone of protection or removing the opponent from the territory I was assigned to clear.
I admit some anxiety about what is around my life’s corner. It is one of those times where the world seems to be swirling around me. So I need to buckle up my chinstrap one more time. Throughout life we have feelings that the situation is “just too much, or we are “out of sorts” and feel overwhelmed. It is during such times we are called to hold a strong “center” in our life. We are called to awaken in ourselves an ability to direct our God given powers in a focused and embodied way. We need to “center” ourselves and allow God to work through us to accomplish what needs to be done. So when the world seems to be “stunting” we must remember to return to our core, the one centered in God, and concentrate on our world, not those who would distract. Perhaps, if we do we will surprise even ourselves by staying onsides, removing life’s obstacles, and going for a long gain in life.
Ed.’s note: Suzy also says, “Stop with the bad metaphors!”
Your Friend,
Webb
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