This past week, I spent many hours watching a basketball camp that was put on by the Harlem Globetrotters. This camp had over 300 children in it, some in the morning sessions and some in the afternoon session.
My original intent was just to sit in for a couple minutes and then leave but while I was there, what I saw and heard held my attention for the entire week. I was there almost as much as the children attending and I did not mind one bit.
This camp was not intended to be a wild, loosely run camp. It was designed to be a camp that helped all the children who attended to be better people by the end of the camp and equipped with what they needed to continue being successful (or start being successful) in life. It was designed to teach them how to get along with other and to, of course, learn new or better skills about the game of basketball. The playing of basketball was secondary; learning how to enjoy yourself and respect others was first.
Everyday while in their initial circle, the first thing they had to say were the two rules of the camp, "Enjoy yourself and respect others." They spent time talking about them and repeating it everyday so the vision of the camp would be clearly understood and practiced. All week long, I saw this. Of course, there were times when some of the kids did not do what they were told but there were consequence either just for them or the entire camp. The consequence to be "suffered" would be ten to twenty pushups or laps back and forth in the gym. This would soon drive that particular point home and they would rejoin their teammates and continue playing as though nothing had happened.
I watched them as they enjoyed themselves. Each child worked very hard to do what they were told. The one thing that stuck out in my mind was how they persevered but smiled at the end of any particular physicial activity or learning session. They were truly enjoying themselves, even though some parts caused them to struggle. They were sore but came back on the next day and the next day and the next day and completed the entire week in the camp. They had to be patient and wait for others in front of them to do what was required and they had to forget any of their problems and encourage their teammate.
"How do I go through life?", I asked myself. Am I enjoying myself? Am I encouraging others in spite of what might be happening in my life? Am I showing others the respect that is due to them? Watching the children (ages 6 through 16) gave me reason to pause in this day of job layoffs, staff reassignments, high gas prices, higher food prices, more bills than money to pay them. It was hard for some of the youth to do some things required. It was difficult to put one leg over the other, bend over and count and then reverse that. However, they kept trying, they kept doing it and by the end of the week found they could bend more and reach farther than at the beginning. In their continuing to try to go through this portion of life, they found if they just kept trying and enjoyed themselves, while respecting and helping each other, they came out a winner because they were able to focus on something and someone other than themselves.
Am I happy? Most of the time. Do I respect others? Most of the time. Is that good enough? No. This needs to be what happens everyday in my life. Is it possible to do? Yes. It is very possible to enjoy yourself daily. All you have to do is realize that if you are reading this blog or breathing or walking or eating, driving, shopping, talking, you are enjoying yourself. Whenever you speak to someone you encounter, you are respecting others. When you help someone else or sacrifice for others, you are respecting them.
Another question I asked myself was, "Did I take this week to help mask other things that are going on in my life? Did I use this time to ignore things that needed to be addressed? The answer is "YES". Some days, I, like you, have to deal with things that make me want to holler. Many days I have the "silent scream" going on inside me. There are times that I just wish I could fade away from problems and situations. So to crowd out those things that are unpleasant, I occupy myself with other things temporarily. This includes things like watching the basketball camp for one week when I know I need to be working hard on other things. Now that I know that is not possible, I have decided to try to live each day like it is my last day and ENJOY MYSELF AND RESPECT OTHERS!
The children reminded me of a valuable lesson my parent instilled in me. When it is going to stretch me more than I want to be stretched, when I have to keep going because others are encouraging and counting on me, when I ache so much from the pain but I can not complain, I have to keep going and I have to enjoy myself. I have to tell myself to enjoy it because that is is a motivator. Having fun is a great motivator to help people persevere. Showing others that I care about them and have respect for them as people is a great motivator for them. There is a double blessing in enjoying yourself and respecting others.
I want to thank the Globetrotter coaches, Coach Buckets, Coach Wildkat, and Coach Moo Moo (because he likes to drink milk). I want to thank them for not only what they did for the attendees of the camp but all of the adults who sat on the side and watch were able to be blessed with the "circle talks". I want to thank the coaches for being so respectful of the children and caring so much to spend and entire week doing two sessions a day. Thank you, Coaches, for reminding me that I need to enjoy myself and respect others.
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