The other day I was talking to my sister, a coach of a stuggling basketball team on a losing streak. This young team has shown so much heart and fight, that their pain of not having a win is felt by all who know, watch and coach them. They leave all that they have on the court and even though the effort and hard work is there, the rewards are not to be seen.
Is it just the win that matters? Perhaps as a society we are geared to think that way. The 2010 winter olympic’s have just ended and of course that is the ultimate “win” and even the announcers have a way of making a “Silver Medal” feel like a loss! How do they do that!
When everything you have is put on the table and you still lose, can you really still be a loser? What is loss, never trying or to have tried and failed? Are life’s lessons enough or do we need the win to justify our efforts? Some win without trying, others try and never win and still others win big, and lose big, and visa versa. No matter how you look at it, it appears as if winning and losing are part of the same game. My father used to say: “All work is honorable”. Even the work of trying to win, when the odds are against you, is honorable.
Winning is a state of mind. Dream big, work hard and put everything on the table. I hope you win.
Karin, this blog is incredible. I love the combination of pictures, titles and stories. It so works! Reminds me of the work a couple from Fairbanks do and have exhibited down here in Homer a couple of times. She builds abstract, unique boxes that are filled with odd items. He writes poetry that represents how the object she made affected him. Very personal and moving. Your work grabs me deeper, it is so personal and gives the paintings and titles you have chosen such depth. I love it. Somehow I feel like I picked up someones coffee table book(something meant to be casual), but it is so good I can’t just browse, I can’t put it down, I have to read it, study the pictures, and love the titles. Great Job!
Thanks Deb, I really appreciate the comments as a life of living does seem to leak out in places one never expects! The metaphor can be so obscure and yet so obvious and I guess that pleases me most!