Basketball as a metaphor for life

This testimony could have been about all of the mind/body functions on this site, but thought I would choose the 3 obvious ones.

I am 47 and I play morning pick up basketball with women and men, for over an hour twice per week.  We run hard and work up a good sweat.  The ages of the players range from 16 - 54.

There is nothing that happens on the court that isn't a metaphor for life.  Basketball is about success and failure; - it's about victory and defeat; - about co-operation and competition; - about complimenting our own team and also the other team; - about working hard and slacking off.  It's about determination and relaxation; - about accepting and disagreeing; -about working as a cohesive unit and going it alone; - about claiming the glory and also about sharing it; - about showing off and being humble; - about high fives, low fives, (no, we don't do the chest banging stuff in our league) and shaking hands.  It's about golden opportunities and missed ones; - about shere fun and at times, injury; - about health and our bodies; - about youth, old age and everything in between; - about love, wisdom and life.  And basketball is about the best cardiovasular exercise that I know of.

When I play, my body often feels 20 years younger, and my mind occasionally feels 30 years younger.  (The latter which occurs on rare occasions where I'm in the complaining or blaming mode of my youthful immaturity).

I'll give you 2 examples of basketball metaphors.

One is about court sense.  Some people have the greatest court sense.  They know where to go, where to be, find an open spot and are in the right place at the right time.  This has nothing to do with luck.  So to in life.  Some people just have the knack of having a clear, decisive, non-hesitant way of being where they are so confident, that they are always in the right place at the right time. 

I have very poor court sense.  It's getting better and better (after 32 years of playing ball).  However, I find that on the days that I am clear, decisive, and non-hesitant (whether it be about choosing a color for the house or dealing with a challenging problem), I also find that on the court that morning, my court sense is supreme.  I cut to the basket well, I'm not running around like a chicken with my head cut off, I know where to go to receive a pass, - I'm in the flow.  Flowing with the universe and flowing with the game.

The other example of a basketball metaphor I have is about manifesting desire.  I believe in the power of the law of attraction and I believe that when we want something with all of our heart and soul, it is already ours.

32 years ago, I tried out for the grade 9 basketball team.  I got cut.  Same in grade 10 and same in grade 11.  It was evident that I was not destined for the WNBA, however my desires were intense and twofold:  I wanted to play on a baskeball team and I wanted to date a basketball player.

For three years every morning, I would be at the school gym at 7 a.m. practising ball before school even started.  Then after school finished, I would be in the gym for an hour shooting hoops and practising my dribbling.  Even after all of the rejections, I was not disuaded from my dreams and desires.

Finally I made the grades 12 and 13 teams because there weren't enough girls who tried out.

The ending of this story goes like this:  I play basketball twice a week with the love of my life (who is still an awesome player at 48 years of age) and we have a blast.  Had I given up on my dreams; had I taken my many rejections as a "sign" that I wasn't cut out for this sport, I would not be having this glorious experience twice a week, and I would not be married to my best friend (who happens to be an excellent shooting guard!!)

I challenge anyone to come up with a life situation where I can't find a basketball metaphor for.