stadium
Some days are more “Monday-ier” than others. I know that I’ve shared this sentiment before, but today it has come to pass once again. Arriving down here at the beach quite a bit later than usual, the first sign should have been the lack of parking. It’s a gorgeous day, to be sure, but it’s easier to enjoy when I can park. The other sign was the “retired bunch” beating feet to get their caffeine before I could get to the door. Apparently it was important this morning for the eight of them to get ahead of the one of me. Whatever…. it was enjoyable to have contributed to their unplanned morning jog. It didn’t matter to me, even though I’m the one on my way to a JOB! But the sun is out and the only thing bitter here is the coffee. At least I have my chair, and my headphones, and my live DVD of “The Boss”.
Not really having any idea where I was going to go with this today, I decided to enjoy the concert footage for a bit. It’s very therapeutic . It inspires me that guys who are even older than I am can put as much passion into something they’ve done thousands of times before. Each song is performed like it was their last, and at their age, let’s be honest, it might be. I guess that is what makes them great, legendary even. You might not agree or even appreciate my music tastes, but when a group as old as the “E-Street Band” is still together and packing stadiums instead of headlining the “Piggly Wiggly” tour, you really have no argument against them. These guys have a relentless passion that drives them to play each song like’s it’s their last. It kind of makes an encore anticlimactic.
I wonder what my life would be like if I attacked it with the same relentless passion. I wonder what Sunday’s would be like if I thought every sermon might be my last? Some people who listen to me week after week might secretly wish for that. I wonder what my faith would look like if I saw every moment to make a difference as my last. I’m learning more every day that life was meant to be participatory. It’s like the difference between white water rafting and a log flume. You get wet either way, but with one it happens not matter what you do, and the other is proportionately determined by what you do…or don’t do. This morning, I just went along for the ride. I was on autopilot and waded through what was less than an ideal beach experience because it was brainless. If I’m honest, there were so many variables that I could have invested in to wring out every bit of experience that was mine for the taking. I could have gone, dare I say it,….somewhere else. After all, I’m not here for the coffee, or the company. I’m really here for this stupid chair. This is Seattle, I passed 332 coffee shops in the 5 minute drive to get here. I bet some of them even had chairs. Routine is like “the Ring” for me, I both love and hate it.
I have a choice as I leave here this morning. I can take the raft or the flume. I’m going to get wet either way, so it might as well be by my own doing. These old people might have beat me in here, but I’m going to beat them out. I have a date with the stadium. They can have the Piggly Wiggly.
Not really having any idea where I was going to go with this today, I decided to enjoy the concert footage for a bit. It’s very therapeutic . It inspires me that guys who are even older than I am can put as much passion into something they’ve done thousands of times before. Each song is performed like it was their last, and at their age, let’s be honest, it might be. I guess that is what makes them great, legendary even. You might not agree or even appreciate my music tastes, but when a group as old as the “E-Street Band” is still together and packing stadiums instead of headlining the “Piggly Wiggly” tour, you really have no argument against them. These guys have a relentless passion that drives them to play each song like’s it’s their last. It kind of makes an encore anticlimactic.
I wonder what my life would be like if I attacked it with the same relentless passion. I wonder what Sunday’s would be like if I thought every sermon might be my last? Some people who listen to me week after week might secretly wish for that. I wonder what my faith would look like if I saw every moment to make a difference as my last. I’m learning more every day that life was meant to be participatory. It’s like the difference between white water rafting and a log flume. You get wet either way, but with one it happens not matter what you do, and the other is proportionately determined by what you do…or don’t do. This morning, I just went along for the ride. I was on autopilot and waded through what was less than an ideal beach experience because it was brainless. If I’m honest, there were so many variables that I could have invested in to wring out every bit of experience that was mine for the taking. I could have gone, dare I say it,….somewhere else. After all, I’m not here for the coffee, or the company. I’m really here for this stupid chair. This is Seattle, I passed 332 coffee shops in the 5 minute drive to get here. I bet some of them even had chairs. Routine is like “the Ring” for me, I both love and hate it.
I have a choice as I leave here this morning. I can take the raft or the flume. I’m going to get wet either way, so it might as well be by my own doing. These old people might have beat me in here, but I’m going to beat them out. I have a date with the stadium. They can have the Piggly Wiggly.
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