Live from Louisville

Hey Everyone

I’m sorry I have been MIA for the last few days. I have been very busy getting ready and participating in rugby nationals.

I am so blessed to be around such an amazing rugby family. There are nothing but wins in my heart because of all the wonderful people and experiences I get to be surrounded by.

As athlete of the year Nick Springer says “We are all in this together!”

All the players are SO SO thankful for the contributions that the volunteers give so selflessly to our sport.

We Love Rugby!

THANK YOU!
Chris

My Apology to the Utrecht Scorpions

I had to do something yesterday that I never like to do. I went back on my word.

The thing I love to do more then anything in the world is play wheelchair rugby.

I love to do it so much I will go anywhere on the globe to play it. After being a guest player for South Florida, Manitoba and Midwest Rebels I realize the power of playing rugby anywhere I can.

After the December 2008 tryouts for Team USA 2009, I was under the impression that there would be no Team USQRA for 2009. So I started searching for off-season playing opportunities on the Internet. I found out about the tournament in Amsterdam and was soon shooting many e-mails back and forth between Europe and Alabama.

The Utrecht Scorpions graciously offered for me to play with them in Amsterdam in mid-June. I was very excited about the prospect and had full intentions of going up until a couple of days ago.

Team USQRA has yet to be selected, but if I am blessed enough to be selected I will be in Brazil at the same time that Amsterdam tournament is going on. My biggest dream in life is to put on the red, white and blue. I must set my mind for it and have no barriers in the way. I'm guaranteed nothing and open to whatever the universe has to offer.

I am writing this to send the deepest apology I know how to the Scorpions. I also want them to know that I will do whatever I can to help them out. If there is any experienced 2.0-3.0 that would like to go to Amsterdam in mid-June please contact me at chris.rathje@gmail.com and I will relay information.

Scorpions, thank you for your generosity I will do whatever I can to help you.

I hope you realize my heart was pure, but circumstances just didn't work out.

I wish you nothing but the best and hope we can work together some other time.

Thanks for your time
Chris

The Michigan Lessons

This one is dedicated to my coach Kevin, my teammate Bryan, and my buddy Matt from TNT.

On last Thursday I headed to Michigan with the attitude “Let's go have one of the best weekends of our lives boys!” Even I didn't realize how accurate I was.

The first lesson of the weekend came while Lakeshore and TNT were waiting for our flight to Michigan in O'Hare. Both teams were sitting there waiting for our flight and I was sitting right next to Matt.

He had a hard spasm and the bag he was carrying in his lap fell to the ground. I knew the situation very well. Whether it's the contents of my wallet spilling all over the grocery store floor, the mail spilling all over the place or knocking the ball out of my own lap, I have felt ashamed of my spasms thousands of times in my life.

This is why Matt gave me such a valuable lesson. When I picked up Matt's bag from the ground he just smiled and said “Thanks!” No shame or embarrassment. Matt knows who he is and knows a little spasm doesn't define him.

I am a very stubborn person when it comes to certain things. I wouldn't be a fraction of how successful I am without that stubbornness, but I also know it leads to flaws. I'm always hungry to prove I can do things myself even when if I just asked for help it would make my life easier.

I'm not a bad person because I can't pick up coins from the ground quickly and I'm not a weak person for accepting help. God gives us talents and flaws for a reason. We must rely on one another to get the most out of life.

I try extremely hard to practice this in my life. I hope my love and support for my teammates shines through. I hope I am productive voice from the bench and court.

It warmed my heart to see us play so well against Ohio to start the weekend off right and I was really excited to get out there and play myself. I was frantic trying to force my body to do things it didn't want to do, but then Kevin told me one of the wisest things I've ever heard. “Only focus on things you can control. Right now you can’t control your body.”

I just naturally assume I can control my body, but Kevin is right on the money. My hands and torso do not appreciate how hard I have pushed them since 2000, they are rebelling and telling me I need to get smarter.

Something I realized over the last several months is to bring your fear out into the light. That way the fear cannot get you later on. I openly admitted to my team how scared I really was about what my body was doing. I even shed a few tears and Bryan picked me right up

He said it was time for “No Fear.” And he was right!

Over the course of the weekend Bryan and other vets showed me how to conserve energy and become a smarter player. Talking calmly and confidently really does work better and saves a lot of energy. There are still times I talk too much, but I now know why and will discuss further in a later post.

I'm really blessed to be part of such an amazing team and I'm really proud of the entire heartland sectional. I think all eight teams that were there our on their way up. No team there was perfect, but we are all improving from where we began. After all life isn't about perfection, life is about growth. The heartland is growing and I proud to be involved in that growth.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for selecting me to get the sportsmanship award. I would have been extremely embarrassed if I received an award like that in the past. I would have thought that getting singled out like that was somehow wrong because of my low self-esteem, but I now realize its okay to be me.

I mess up all the time, but I still try to let the light that shines in my heart become visible to everyone else. Everyone else makes it so easy. I get to be a member of a special team, who gets the privilege to play a special sport.

Less than 1% of the population understands what it is like to be us. We might wear different colored jerseys during the game, but I've yet to meet an opponent. We are all family!

Thanks for reading
Chris

100 Passes

I did a light pushing and ball handling workout in the Lakeshore Fieldhouse last night.

One of the main weaknesses of my game is passing. Getting my arms and hands to do what they need to do when I want them to do it. So before I left for the night I decided to get a hundred clean passes and catches off the wall.

I was quite tired and sore from a weekend of rugby with my hands and abs yelling at me like never before, but that is just temporary. Being a champion in everything you do lasts forever.

My first attempt at a hundred ended at 10. My second attempt ended at 18. My third attempt ended at 37. My fourth attempt I got in a really nice flow and made it all the way to 61 before my mind slipped on a catch.

I got so angry at myself I couldn’t think straight and I could only muster four on the fifth attempt. I had a flash of a self doubting mental thought, “just give up it doesn’t matter!”

We all control our own lives and for many I’m sure it doesn’t matter, but nothing matters more to me. I have places to go in my life and I need to become a better player to make that happen.

I regrouped mentally before my right hand slipped on number 26 of the sixth attempt. I started damming my own arms for not doing what I wanted them to do, but that was a horrible attitude. My mind always controls my arms if I have a firm enough mindset.

On the seventh attempt I finally hit 100 and I was in such a good flow I hit 200 without a flub of any kind. 200 is my new standard and by sometime soon a thousand will be. Set your mind for what you really want and go get it!

I am far from perfect I really wanted to quit after attempt four and attempt six, but my mind knows what is coming and would not let me stop. KNOWING where you are going before it even seems rational is how people make things happen.

At 22 I doubted my dreams as a nine-year-old because I couldn’t push with a ball in my lap. At 27 I now realize my nine year old self was brilliant because it had the guts to say someday Chicago is going to host the Paralympics and I’m going to win a gold medal.

I constantly say life is not about perfection, it’s about growth. I fell 6 times and wouldn’t let myself quit. On the seventh attempt I got twice of what I wanted.

Have the guts to say what you really want and go get it. This is not an easy process, but it is a simple one. Expect more from yourself then you ever thought possible. If you follow your dreams, put forth maximum effort and uplift others. Anything is possible!

I challenge you to love something in your life you never loved before. Man I loved when my arms didn’t work the way I wanted them to because it showed how strong my mind really is.

Love your life and bless the world!

Thanks for reading
Chris

Sondtrack For My Mind!

I just finished putting together the perfect soundtrack for how I want to set my mind for this weekend.

1. Break Away by Kelly Clarkson
I don’t like how I have been treated most of my life by most people. I choose to declare that I no longer subject myself to that anymore. I break away from those feelings today and everyday here forward.

2. Bigger Then My Body by John Mayer
We are always more then our limitations. I have been weak in the past. Time for a change. At some point this weekend I am going to throw a bad pass or miss a ball. One play never defines me. WE ARE WAY TO BIG TO LET ONE PLAY GET US DOWN!

3. The Remedy (I Won’t Worry!) Jason Mraz

Have Fun! There is nothing that is going to happen to us that we can’t handle. It has been said, many times before I think way too much. Time to let the brain be quiet and just love everybody and everything.

“You Can Turn Off The Sun and We Are Still Going To Shine!”

I don’t know why God gives me such good music to play in my head. I know the universe knows how thankful I am and how I am constantly striving to improve myself and empower others. I fail so often and am humbled, but I set my mind for what I really want and try ” to shine some light on my friends!”

More on this topic to come in the future, but I realized something today sitting in O’Hare Airport. The ordinary requires extraordinary effort for me. I don’t know anyone else who took a decade to learn how to drive. Now that the extraordinary has become ordinary for me I can tune into the exact life I want. God has planted huge dreams in my heart!

I am not appreciating the light that has been given to me unless I push the envelope in a way that pleases the universe.

I am confident for the first time in my life. I’m going to make things happen!

Thank you everyone! Life is a team sport and you are my legendary team! May we all grow and be blessed.

Thanks for reading!
Chris

St. Patty’s Blessings Brought to You by Brenda and Renee

God works in mysterious ways. This piece is exhibit #1. I received and replied to emails from two wonderful people today.

My fantastic cousin Brenda and my equally amazing friend Renee, everyone knows about my beloved Brenda from yesterday, but here is a little about Renee.

First of all Renee is not a person, she is a petit blonde force of nature. The word can’t is not in her vocabulary.

The strongest memory I have of Renee is when we were both refused interviews by the same Fortune 500 Company in our final term at Northwestern. I do not like to drink, but the song Alcohol by Brad Paisley rocked out for a reason from my dorm room on that night. As I wandered to different apartments and pubs that night many people were around, but only Renee understood why I wasn’t my normal chipper self.

I was deeply wounded by the rejection. From our best statistical analysis from Nevin’s Pub we determined we were the only two students who applied that did not get interviews.

Really? We were the bottom of the barrel?

Nope! Not even close! Someone made assumptions about us that were false based off a piece of paper.

Lesson 1: Always give somebody the benefit of the doubt. Diamonds in the rough are real and your patience will be rewarded.

Brenda the next lesson I was trying to write last night and couldn’t think of the right words.

Lesson 2: Other people’s rush judgments are your blessings, have the courage to see it in the moment.

Even back in Evanston in October 2005 I dreamed of Lakeshore, but didn’t have the courage to just say it. God sent me clues like the Alabama quarter I received at the Century Theater when I uncharacteristically didn’t have exact change.

I know Renee loves Michigan because of Shawn and the hairless wonder dog Ziggy. I am pushing towards the only things I have ever wanted since 3rd grade in Alabama. None of this would be possible if we were given the chances we had earned. Everything happens for a reason, it sometimes takes a while for the story to unfold.


Lesson 3: Find a way to have fun even if it seems silly! If it makes you happy, do it! Clap your hands, make a noise or dance an Irish jig!

Lesson 4: I am far from perfect, but I’m still having a blast. Face what worries you in the light and it can’t get you in the shadows!

Lesson 5: Sometimes the steps are painful and tedious along the way. The days that hurt or are confusing I need to pray harder and believe in my dreams even more!

Lesson 6: This is not a birth right. It can be taken away at any moment if I stop following my dreams, stop giving maximum effort and stop being good to others.
Lesson 7: Next time you see somebody in need; help them even if you don’t think you have the time. God will make up the time and then some!

This final one is dedicated to my baby cuz, soon to be college graduate, but it can be applied to anyone of any age!

MAKE THESE THE BEST WEEKS OF YOUR LIFE! Laugh Harder! Smile More!
Nothing ever ends unless you want it to. Time is a limitation of a human mind. College is not a time; college is a feeling!

I honestly feel like I have the courage to be three ages all at once and none of these are my age according to the calendar.

I am four because I am so happy about everything! I remember not being able to lift my arms at all and then all the sudden I saw the reflection in the mirror at therapy. First the right, then the left, it was really ME LIFTING MY ARMS!

I am twenty because all I really care about is the sport that drives me. I’m at the end of my sophomore year of college. I know the sport now, but I need to keep pushing more. I know the sacrifices that need to be made, but I must stay disciplined and focused. It is up to me where I end up.

I am ageless because God takes the little amount of talent I have earned and magnifies it to help others through his words.
Life is an ever evolving document. Things will change someday. I will meet people that will continue to change my life. I will have more responsibilities, but I will also have more resources! My inner ages will have to adjust, but joy will always drive me.
Yeah Buddy! Think Green! Be Happy!

Brenda & Renee are very special people that God wants me to help. God has also taught me when he gives me a gift, share it with it as many people as I can.

I hope you enjoyed my blessings!

Thanks for reading
Chris

The Brenda Lessons

I am an only child. The closest I come to blood siblings is my first cousins. I am the oldest cousin on the Rathje side and youngest cousin on the Nagel side by a considerable margin. The second youngest cousin on the Nagel side, Kim was already driving by the time I was born. I love my Nagel cousins, but I did not grow up with them.

My cousin Andy was born four days shy of my third birthday. I have so many amazing memories with Andy from his fascination with vacuum cleaners and airplanes when we were little to us getting amazing seats at Wrigley Field together as adults, but I do not remember the day he was born.

However by the time Brenda came around over two years later, I was about to go into kindergarten. I will always remember June 9, 1987. I remember being fascinated by the concept of Brenda.

I thought to myself “Look, there’s a brand-new baby and I’m related to it!” It was an absolutely incredible experience.

Growing up as a kid I was the weak one in the family because I lacked so much physical ability. I wanted to help out my younger cousins, but didn’t know how.

Now that we are all young adults I realize that physical strength is still important, but not as important as mental and emotional strength. I would like to empower all recent college graduates and soon-to-be college graduates. This one is for Andy and Brenda.

I originally saw this as several pieces. It started several weeks ago via a Facebook conversation with my grad school friend Casey. It grew two weeks ago when talking to Brenda and was finished in my mind this afternoon after writing another Facebook message to Brenda. Thank you for inspiring me to write this Brenda. Here are five lessons I would like to share.

1. Eliminate fear, love everything in your life. So far in my studies of life I found that every emotion really boils down to love and fear.

Sometimes fear is real, but most of the time it’s not. If you are scared about something go out and do something about it or just have faith pull you through.

Right now my biggest fear is driving. I wish I could rely on my body more as far as spasticity, coordination and reaction time. I know when the time is right, I will be blessed with the right driving teacher and I will eliminate that fear. For now life goes on well up and down Highway 31 as I launch my writing career from my apartment. I pray every time I get into the car. This love and fear concept took me a long time to understand. Spend some time thinking about it and what is right for you will come to pass.

2. Decide the odds don’t apply to you!

I flat out love Grey’s Anatomy. I could care less what the current drama is between McDreamy and McSteamy, however it is an extremely well-written show and there is always two or three wise nuggets of life in every episode. This week’s episode toward the very end had a conversation between Little Gray and Izzy. Izzy has her 5% to deal with and Little Grey’s Mom somehow died with a 0% chance of that happening.

Somewhere along the line of applying to Northwestern I was told they were going to take five students straight out of undergrad. To get one of five spots seemed daunting at the time. They ended up taking 7 of us. Statistics can change! Nothing is certain. If thoughts of the economy freak you out. Do what I’ve done. Shut off the news. I do not control the economy. Try to take care of what you can control and know you can do whatever you want.

3. Follow your heart and make sure your brain is listening. Joy is like a compass and your brain is like a GPS system.

It will take you exactly where you want to go, but you have to give it the right address. If you don’t like where you end up enter a new address, but don’t stay there. Most great journeys only reveal themselves one step at a time. Learn to be okay with this.

4. Treat everyone well and take extra care of the ones that love you.

A couple months ago I was looking for an answer to a question for several months. Out of the blue a person who has treated me like a pile of garbage for several years now just e-mails me the answer to my important question without even realizing that I was looking for that answer. I doubt this person even knows how much their actions hurt me because I rose above the situation so well. If that is not an example of karma, I do not know if one exists. I have been trying for a couple weeks now to come up with the exact phrasing for number 3 with the idea that it would be its own separate piece. I know the only reason I was able to come up with the exact phrase was because I was trying to uplift my lovely baby cousin this afternoon via Facebook. God gives us gifts if we look after those we are supposed to.

5. Follow your dreams, work hard and treat other people like you want to be treated.

I have said this so many times, but it needs to be repeated. I have seen so many people do the last two without doing the first one. Why do so many people ignore their hearts? The universe gives us personalized maps and we sometimes try to look at other people’s. Don’t follow the money! Follow the love; if you work hard at something you love the money will follow. Money after all really is just green paper.

No matter what age we are we are responsible for our little corner of the world. If everyone takes care of their own corner, all the sudden the world’s problems are lessened. This is a reality in our lifetime and any lifetime. The purpose of life is not perfection it is growth. Anything is possible!

Thank You Brenners, Thank You Everyone!
Chris