Football, Pajamas and a Rainy Sunday
Some spiritually minded people see professional football as, well - unspiritual. The general assessment: It’s shallow, commercial, based on consumerism, and violent.
I see how that could be true, but my focused perspective angles in differently: I find it calming, playful, and uplifting: it brings me joy. The sounds of the game such as the cheering, the tones of the unbelievably massive stadium filled with hundreds of thousands of fans, the excitement in the anchor’s narration, the unpredictability and surprise of outcome, watching incredibly healthy and fit men at play, and even the bright colors of the field, and uniforms - it lifts me up: “Go-Go-Go- Go”!! What a fabulous way to raise my vibration: to cheer, to anticipate, to take a break from routine, and to be in sequence with a massive number of people who share the same passion for a non-detrimental cause, such as sports. To the players: it’s not meaningless though, it is a life journey - a career that they have chosen.
In my perspective, football reflects the game of life: unexpected disappointment or success, jet powered going after that “thing” - that goal: the football which is metaphorically success, or love, or spiritual enlightenment, or whatever. We strive to attain those goals with the same strategy, passion, and drive to reach beyond our limitations, incredible self-discipline, and the push to reach our greatest potential. A football game is a story of life.
Literally as I write this, Arizona has just crushed it with an epic comeback from their poorly played game, and everyone expected them to lose but no! A quick comeback and Big Win! So fun!
Anyway, my love of football also stems from childhood: watching the games every Sunday with my nurturing dad as I snuggled in his lap, munching his yummy, buttered popcorn, and cheering with him. It made us both happy and calm.
Now: in May, I planned with big anticipation to head to The Lafayette Art and Wine Festival for a favorite thing: live music - dancing, and shopping with my girlfriends in the typical, expected super-hot September sunshine. But today it’s raining. So: football it is! Instead of buttered popcorn, I took total pleasure in making organic vegetable soup.
Despite the gratifying fulfilment I am so blessed with in assisting patients to Level Up their health and in easing their stress, the truth is that there is a common playing field in this interesting time: Societal unpredictability, chaos with politics, crashing finances and stock market, threat of fires – you know what I mean. We all feel it.
Meditation, exercise, and inner work are effective tools for stress management of course. And so is play. It works for me - Football works for me.
So I say “Go-Go-Go”!!! level up your health, raise your vibe, cut lose and play!
Dr. Caralina