Winning gives birth to hostility.
Losing, one lies down in pain.
The calmed lie down with ease,
having set winning and losing aside.


The Dhammapada - Chapter 15, Verse 201
(Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu)
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Building upon a recent post about preserving the youth, I played kickball last weekend, for the first time since fifth grade. A bunch of middle-aged guys and gals from the gym organized the game in a local park. It was hilarious to watch.

I used to play soccer [brushes of shoulder] so I was alright in the kicking department, but some of my peers were, well, less athletically inclined. Coordination below the waist is lacking for most people who never played sports requiring coordination below the waist, and observing a sudden late-life need for this skill in others is just darn fun.

One guy whiffed at a slow roller so hard you thought he might be Charlie Brown. “I’m not wearing my glasses!” he belted out. Sure, sure, sure.

People who had no inkling of baseball-like rules were the best, slicing a kick over the fence along the foul line and arguing for a home run and whatnot. Good times. Good times.

The best part was how quickly the competitive fifth grade nature snaps back when the game is on the line going into the last inning, arguing over close calls the way you would at recess, half-seriously accusing people you hardly know of being cheaters in a nonsense sport that would leave you sore enough to remember how old you are. There’s something magical about the way old gym games turn grownups into kids again.

Ahh, Life: Why do you bury these joyful moments under so many responsibilities? Why do decades pass between matches on the kickball fields of our existence?

Don’t get confused: Despite the above “wisdom,” there are winners and losers in this life. Clearly Buddha never kicked the winning RBI in an elementary school game in the bottom of the ninth. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I realize this was probably written by someone picked last in gym class every time. Loser.

Now, if you have the balls to find out which one you are, clear your schedule for Sunday. Round two is on.