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I watched the NBA Finals on Sunday night like a lot of people. As a Portland Trail Blazers fan, watching the Lakers win was like watching Lex Luthor (Kobe Bryant) take down Superman (Dwight Howard): the villain won. As I watched as the Lakers celebrated and the Magic sat there with glazed over eyes, I was looking for a lesson
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Comments
06.17.09
Lance, I think this is an interesting point of view. You're right--sometimes we try to read into what happened and try to understand why. The act of letting go and/or accepting is a good one for those theories and the examples you wrote.
However, I think you can ALWAYS learn something from life. You don't have to beat the lesson into the ground or over analyze it, but even learning about "sometimes you win, sometimes you lose," there's value there and it's important to understand. We're constantly experiencing, so it's impossible to not learn something. It just depends on your point of view and how you decide to tackle your life, each day.
06.17.09
I do not agree. Not at all. I think it is lazy to sit around and think that life just happens and sometimes there are no lessons to take from it. I think there is ALWAYS a lesson to take from an experience. Whether you lose out on a job and need to learn a lesson in patience or a basketball team learns how to become a stronger team, there's always something to learn.
I'm a Christian, so maybe that influences my belief that God uses experiences in my life to draw me closer to Him. Perhaps I'm also quick to disagree with you because I'm going through a rough season of life right now and the only thing keeping me going is the fact that win or lose, I'm becoming a stronger person.
Of course, some lessons are more important than others. But I think you run the risk of becoming numb to what the world has to offer if you DON'T try to find a lesson in what is happening around you. What harm is there in thinking outside of the box?
06.17.09
I don't think it is laziness at all. In fact, I think it is often times laziness that pushes us into overanalyzing events in our life. If we are busy looking for excuses or hidden meanings, we don't have to confront the facts of the situation.
That's not to say that there aren't great life lessons in many situations. But to go back to my example, the Orlando Magic clearly weren't as good as the LA Lakers. If you've played basketball for as long as these people, you already know that you win some and lose some.
But when looking into a deeper meaning as to how the Lakers beat the Magic? There's nothing there. You accept that reality and you work on either becoming more talented or bringing more talent to your team.
06.17.09
Excellent post, I concur with you.
M
06.17.09
I agree with Lance (and Grace). There comes a point in every experience when it just is what it is -- nothing more. Granted, there are /many/ grand life lessons to be learned, but they're not contained in every mundane experience. There are lessons to be learned in every experience, but excessive attempts to derive life's wisdom from self-evident experiences isn't going to get you anywhere.
As far as being Christian, I'm reminded of the prayer; "Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."
Sometime you win, sometimes you lose. Or, sometimes the outcome is within your control and sometimes it's not. It's up to you to recognize the difference. Beating yourself up because you lost the big case or business deal is not helping you (assuming you did everything you could to land it). Move on to the next opportunity and keep your chin up.
06.18.09
Nice Post.
I like being reminded that sometimes I have to just be. Don't worry about all the details of everything, because, sometimes it just works out the way it does for no particular reason.
:)
06.18.09
Great post Lance & pretty much Tim took the words right out off of my fingertips. Good discussion.
07.06.09
"Sometimes the Lesson is in the Experience."
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