It's a good thing that I don't really make concrete plans anymore. When yesterday I thought I was going to be away, I got a call for a job interview. I'm not going to get that job, but I stuck around. At least for today I can say that I'm here with an update.
I really dig sports, so whenever I can make a sports analogy I let it fly. I've been reading a lot on the Interweb about Chipper Jones and the dignified way that he is retiring. He told the Atlanta Braves that this year was going to be his last season. He wanted his career to end on his own terms. Isn't that the way most of us want to go? Chipper didn't want his career to end because no team wanted him anymore and he was stuck playing in a semi-pro league, nor did he want it to end while writhing on the field in injury. He wanted to fulfill his contract and ride off into the sunset. It is a most admirable thing, especially considering how often pro athletes waffle on their retirement plans. Chipper, seemingly going against the norm, is a great athlete deciding for himself when the right time to hang up the spikes was. There's a lesson to be gained from Mr. Jones.
I think I may be classified as one of those people who think that everyone has a unique gift. The only issue is how we use those gifts. Chipper had the gifts of a keen batting eye, light-tower power, a mighty quick bat, and great webbing on the hot corner. Chipper put those gifts together and fashioned a likely Hall of Fame career. He was, at one point, the best player in the game, winning the NL MVP in 1999. He even won a batting title as recently as 2008. Unfortunately, injuries have pretty much decimated his body. His knees are beat up and his back is balky...but he can still hit. He's been having an incredible season for the Braves, complete with walk-off hits and shaving cream pies. He's got enough left that he would get another contract if he wanted it. The Braves would for sure re-sign their franchise icon, but I'm sure other teams would take a flyer on the veteran presence and wicked bat that he would provide. Which is why his decision to walk away from baseball is so refreshingly...odd. It seems, from an outsider's perspective at least, that a Major League Baseball player is wired to stay in the game as long as he can. Players don't just leave money or glory or championships on the table. It's all about playing the game you love for as long as you can. And yet Chipper is bucking that trend.
We can look at Chipper (or at least I can) and see a man to be admired. He's taking his life into his own hands. He's not at the mercy of any other person or circumstance. He alone is making the decisions that are best for himself. Whatever the reasons for his retirement, he has made the choice and is (so far) sticking to it. That kind of self-assuredness mixed with self-confidence is one of the most enviable traits that I can imagine. I don't think Chipper is motivated by fear or pride - getting the game before the game gets him - but rather by the feeling that this chapter in his life is closed. He's ready to move on, to leave that old life behind in favor of whatever may be around the corner. Sure, some may say, he has the luxury to do that since he's famous and dizzyingly wealthy and doesn't have to worry about what's next, but he's still a human. He still has the same trappings of fear of failure and fear of the unknown and fear itself. Those reasons and so many more are why professional athletes are so hesitant to leave the only game they've known. But Chipper is leaving.
And so it should go in our own lives. It's hard. It's harder than hard. We are conditioned to rally against that change and that unknown. But sometimes it needs to be done. Beating the game before the game beats us. There are certain situations in life when we just have to throw up our hands, realize we've given it enough, and embrace that next chapter in life. It could potentially be the scariest thing we ever have to face. But we get through it. With a strong will and close friends and positivity and myriad other characteristics - we make it through it. Chipper is not fearful of change. And neither should we.
It's easier said than done. Part II coming soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment