Live Your Life, Love Your Life

Back in October and November I listened to the song Live Your Life by TI featuring Rihanna on a loop. I loved the general message of doing what you want with your life and being thankful for what you have. The song made such an impact on me I wanted to write a piece on it right after I heard it, but the words just didn’t come.

For the last 8 years or so I have believed everything happens for a reason, but life keeps telling me that fact with louder volume through my different experiences.

As I was trying to fall asleep about a week ago the phrase live your life, love your life just came to me. Life is wonderful, but love is paramount.

My wonderful friend Linda who has read countless items on positive energy and the law of attraction has taught me that one of two emotions lies at the root of every thought we have. Either we do things in love or we do things in fear. If we always choose love great things will come to us and I promise we’ll have more fun along the way too!

In a way that only makes sense in my brain I saw something on Monday night that has a different point, but somehow it works for me.

I was watching Inside the Actor’s Studio on Monday night and they had Conan O’Brien on as a guest. He said something that I continue to find even truer as each day passes.

When talking to James Lipton he said that there were many interns on Late Night. If they want to know how to be funny watch rehearsal and see how it all comes together at the very last minute. He expounded by saying something like “we don’t have any idea what we’re doing and it just works itself out.”

Mr. O’Brien continued with this idea, “as you branch out into different fields you realize how no one has any idea what they are doing in anything.” He used such entities like the stock market as an example.

Mr. O’Brien furthered stated that when we realize that we all have no idea what we are doing, we all have a choice to make either you allow this to terrify you or liberate you.

Always choose love and liberation! Realize that fear will exist, but we must embrace it like a scared child and keep moving forward.

I am still learning about this myself, but expect a section on love and fear in Have
Courage to Eat Soup with a Fork.

Thanks for reading!
Chris

My Swiss Mistake

I’m currently having a blast at the Knock ‘n Roll wheelchair rugby tournament in Lake Worth Florida. I was very blessed to get an opportunity to play against the national team from Switzerland  on  Friday.

 On the first possession I was in the game I learned a valuable lesson that can be applied to life.

 My teammate Bob inbounded the ball to me and I took off down the court. Without going into great detail, I successfully crossed half-court, which in high-level games like this has been a difficulty for me in the past.

 I got a few quick pushes and then went blind to the right side of the court.   I only saw one very good defender between me and the goal. My ego got the best of me and I tried to make a one-on-one play. It all kinds of blurs together, but there was a collision where we fought for the ball. I ended up getting the ball back but in the process I went out of bounds and caused my team to lose the ball.

 I learned a valuable lesson in that one play and it can be applied to life.

 My problem was rooted in my improvement process and shortsightedness.

Going over the half court line is a much different endeavor in wheelchair rugby when compared to wheelchair basketball because of the rules that say who is at fault if you are to go over and back across the half court line.

 This is a situation that I had a very difficult time interpreting, up until a few months ago. I was so proud that I calmly got across half-court, I zoned out into a mode where I felt it was all on me to score and I would accomplish my goal.

 I do not consider myself to be a selfish player, but that was a selfish moment.

 It is a good reminder how both rugby and life are team sports.   Trying to score the goal with a flashy one on one play is like trying to accomplish a goal in a more challenging and brash manner. Many times if you calm down and take it one step at a time you can accomplish your goal just the same. You may not get all the attention, and it might take a little longer, but you can accomplish your goal all the same.

Some of the other things I learned are:

1.     Just because you make it one step further down your path, don’t go two or three steps ahead when you’re not ready.

2.     Keep your eyes open to the right side of the court. Just because you see one path to your goal doesn’t mean others aren’t available.

3.     Remember life is a team sport. We can all achieve more when we use the help of those around us.

4.      As we all continue to follow our dreams, the speed of the game will increase and raise our heartbeats, but we must have the mental strength to stay calm and use the same fundamentals we learned earlier on down our paths.

 I hope others can benefit from my international blunder. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such greatness and I honestly cherish my mistake.

If you find yourself struggling in an area that you really care about, take the time to love the activity and eliminate fear from the equation. If you embrace your mistakes and learn from them they are just steps on your path to your dreams. 

Thanks for reading

Chris

We Are All Dragon Warriors!

I had the great honor to watch Kung Fu Panda on Tuesday.  Once again just like Meet The Robinsons this animated film had so many wonderful lessons about life.

First Po never gave up on his dreams.  He was determined to see who the Dragon Warrior would be so he tried time and time again to get a view of the ceremony.  He would get a small glimpse each time he tried, but then his view would be blocked or some other aspect would thwart his plan.  Then he took the action to make the firework chair, which blasted his reality into his dreams and beyond.

Later on in the movie Po is asked by the masters why he is staying to train. He is doing so poorly, he’s failing miserably at his attempt to learn kung fu.

I can relate so much when Po says something to the effect "the reason I stay even though it hurts so much to fail is because it hurts so much more to be who I am when I don’t try to be who I want to be."

I have been blessed to be involved in athletics since I was nine years old, but a in my four sport journey through my life I have never been great in the way I want to be in the last 18 years. It hurts me so badly to not manifest what I want to be on a consistent basis. I see very small glimpses of the possibilities during eight minutes in November, four minutes in December or some random 15 seconds on any given Tuesday or Saturday, but for the most part I am so disappointed in myself. However I have faith that I am going down the right path to find my firework chair that will blast me into a reality beyond my wildest dreams.

We are all capable of this, but we must have faith in our thoughts and beliefs. We all have dragon scrolls to use, our brains!   Positive thoughts can make small intermediate impacts right away and as you continue to go down that path the momentum builds and builds.

 Here is a small example of the power of thoughts. When I am home in Chicago I think nothing of it when it’s 20°, however when it hovered somewhere in the high 20s in Birmingham I felt so cold. Then I thought to myself why am I cold? It is so much warmer than 0 like at home right now. I instantly felt warmer when I thought of how lucky I was and that put a smile on my face.

 We all have the capability to go after our dreams or change our current outcomes by thinking positive thoughts and having the courage to love everyone around us including ourselves. If you’re chasing a dream and things don’t seem to be flowing right even though it is firmly planted in your heart find a way to heal what is bothering you and keep pushing forward.

In Kung Fu Panda they struggle  to find the one dragon warrior, but there is no struggle because there is no need to limit. We are all Dragon Warriors!

They also say in Kung Fu Panda that "there is no secret ingredient" and even though I understand their point I think belief and love are amazing secret ingredients. Anything is possible in this world if we surround ourselves  in an environment where everything is possible and we are all connected together as one loving family. Sometimes the choice of love does not result in immediate positive outcomes, but if we all have faith to stay the course the fruits of our labors will be immense.

 Thanks for reading

Chris

Going Off the Grid

Hey Everybody

I just wanted to let everyone know that tomorrow I am going to Florida for the Knock ‘n Roll wheelchair rugby tournament. I'm sure I'll be able to find wireless somewhere but just in case I wanted everyone to know what’s going on.

I also wanted to let everyone know that I have made the decision to focus less on the website and blog so I can work more on my book. I have been busy making bricks, but now it is time to work on the structure and how everything will fit together. I am proud of my new house, but I must work on it considerably before it is sound enough so I can have visitors.

I also wanted to let everyone know that I have made a revision to the title of my book. It will now be called Have the Courage to Eat Soup with a Fork and Other Lessons from the Gut. I want to have as much positive language in my writing and other communications as possible.

I will try extremely hard to still write often on the web, but it will no longer be my first priority. I have a couple pieces that I have not shared yet and I will not hesitate to make links back to some of my better work. I am sure new things will pop in my head and my gut will tell me to share them with the world, but I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page.

Thank you so much for reading!
Chris

Inauguration Day!

Today is a very exciting day for the United States of America and the rest of the world. Today we welcome the administration of the 44th president of the United States of America, Barack Obama!

I’m extremely excited for the Obama era to begin and it has very little to do with politics. President Obama understands community and love that in a way that will allow this to be a time of transcendence in the world. He is blessed with the ability to inspire millions and he also realizes that inspiration without action has no value.

I have been impressed by President Obama since the Democratic National Convention in 2004. In spring 2006 than Senator Obama gave the commencement speech at Northwestern University. I was no longer on campus because I graduated early in December, but I downloaded the Senator’s speech on that day. I was so impressed by what I read that document has stayed on my desktop screen for the past 2 ½ years.

I have wanted to write about the inspirational abilities of the President for a long time, but I was apprehensive that I could not do him justice and I still feel I have not digested everything I need to in order to say exactly what I want to say.

I promise an extensive piece on President Obama and connected issues when the time is right.

Until then please realize that even though today is a special day in history, citizens of the world can build whatever we want any day.

Peace and Love on a monumental day!
Chris

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Beers

This post is dedicated to my Uncle Ralph. He sent this to me in an email today and I think it is great. With the forwarding nature of emails and the Internet I have no idea who the orginial author is, but he or she is a wise person and should be commended. The only editing I have done is to make it easier to read.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar he shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.

The students responded with an unanimous "yes." The professor then produced two beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you."

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf ball first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled and said, "I'm glad you asked. The beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers with a friend."

Please share this with someone you care about. I JUST DID

Thanks for the wisdom Uncle Ralph.

Thanks for reading everybody
Chris

Lets Move Mountains

I have been trying to keep a list of all the different topics I would like to write about. My very creative title for it is “The List”. Even though “The List” is at record length right now I will not be addressing anything on it in this post.

This is because I was inspired today by a commercial that I saw for the first time today, which ran in Canada this summer. Aliant Commercial

It stars my friend Dave Durepos. I have been honored to call Dave a friend for the past eight plus years. He is a great player, but that's not the thing I admire most about him. I admire the journey he took to become great. Dave does not take no for an answer and he finds a way to make opportunities for himself.

Dave lives in a relatively isolated part of Canada where there are very few players close to his caliber. This means quite a bit of time alone in a gym practicing by himself. It was also hard for him to find games on the domestic level that are challenging for him. Dave found a way to get more playing time by rostering with American teams and sometimes taking up to three connecting flights to get to tournaments.

Dave will always have a special place in my heart for the way he mentored me in my late teens and early 20s. Dave understood life is a team sport before I could even fathom the concept. I know Dave led some cheers for me when he was sitting on the sidelines while I would get in during the final minutes of a game that had already been decided and all I would do is hit a layup.

Once during my sophomore year of college Dave and I were working at the same wheelchair basketball camp for junior players after not seeing each other for several months. During the breaks the counselors would scrimmage. We were on the same team for the first scrimmage of camp. After the scrimmage Dave came up to me and said you have improved A LOT!

The way that Dave said it I knew I had just crossed the line of being a good player in Dave's eyes. I did nothing special, I made a couple layups and set screens so Dave could do his thing from downtown, but Dave understands the power of positive talk and he instilled so much confidence in me.

Dave is not the only thing that is so inspiring about the commercial. The song that is playing in the background is called Believe by Suzie McNeil. I highly encourage everyone to check it out because it is one of the most inspiring songs I have heard in a long time. As the lyrics say “You can move mountains with dreams” and “You can get through almost anything if you just believe.”

Lets believe, have some fun and move those mountains so we can all get to our dreams!

Thanks to Aliant for bringing together the brilliant work of Dave and Suzie! It inspired me deeply.

I hope everyone has time to check out the commercial and the song. It is well worth it!

Thanks for reading
Chris

Please be sure to check out my new website chrisrathje.com Everything will be moving over there once I get word press blogging down.