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| The corner of lively and lovely. |
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
— Proverbs 4:23
"Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like."
— Lao Tzu
“You just got with the flow because life is just all about how you feel.”
— Post Malone
Years ago, the following question was posed to me:
Do you flow through the world or does the world flow through you?
“I flow through the world” was my immediate answer. “The world is stationary and I need to move in order to experience life.”
My inquirer nodded, smiled and then just asked me to give it more thought. I did, for maybe an afternoon or a day, and then just left it there.
As the years went by, I began to contemplate the query and started seeing a new view.
Being sidelined and stationary, the Tuesday night doubleheader was a good night to continue my reflection.
The Cougars twin-billing was a twin-killing. Both games ended in defeat. Not just regular defeat, but both games were extra innings walk-off heartbreaks with close final plays decided by the umpires.
Losing is tough to swallow, and it is especially brutal when you can taste victory.
During close back and forth contests like Tuesday, so many emotions were flowing through me.
You are thinking, “Hold on Captain Cougar! You didn’t move from the dugout all night, but it sounds like the world was flowing through you.”
Ok, ok. I know. Don’t get ahead of me. I’ll get there – just a little more philosophizing!
“You are what you eat,” is a phrase we all learned as kids. Well, let’s just change the word eat to consume.
“You are what you consume.”
We consume much more than food. Air, music, news, nature – from ingestion to elimination, you are experiencing flow. The goal is to keep the healthy and remove the toxic.
The same goes for emotions. Hold the good and purge the bad.
Well, the double loss was too much negativity for me to ingest, and I purged with a primal scream to eliminate.
What flowed out was a certain one syllable, four-letter word that is rooted in the primal release it provides.
This word begins with a fierce and forceful letter that requires that the upper teeth bite down on the bottom lip in order to engage all the neck muscles. This initial sound is a burst of pent-up energy, engaging the vocal cords and facial muscles, preparing the mouth for a powerful exhalation.
The next letter, a vowel, has a deep resonance that requires a big breath, pulling the sound from the reservoir of your chest. The mouth opens wide, the epiglottis flood gates open, and the built-up tension gushes, allowing it to escape with the vowel's vibrating tone giving a sense of release and liberation.
Finally, it ends with a consonant cluster. This part is often enunciated with a deliberate, strong finish. The throat tightens, the tongue curls back, and the sound is pushed forcefully forward, making an explosive sound, like a double-barreled exclamation point that provides a powerful, satisfying conclusion.
This contortion and release acts as a cathartic mechanism, helping to let the anger flow through and out of you. It's a visceral experience, engaging not just your voice but your entire body, making it a full-body flow of rage.
It’s only appropriate that I used that language while I was in foul territory.
Liberated, I felt a sense of relief and clarity from this primal release. It’s a reminder that letting negative emotions flow through you can lead to a deeper sense of calm and balance.
A colonoscopy for the mind. It’s not pretty, and I should have really done it in private, but it needs to be done to clean out your system.
Now, had my emotions been focused on our night of friendship and fellowship, rather than the outcome of the game, I still would have screamed. However, it would have been screams of joy celebrating another beautiful night on the dirt with my Cougar comrades.
After the games, the Cougars went back to our familiar circle around the fire for some medicinal liquid and group therapy. Our bodies are like sieves, so we purged the poison and focused on friendship.
After all these years, I’ve realized that the world flows through you. However, we have the power to choose how emotions, positive or negative, pass through us.
We chose to end the night by letting the love flow.
Scoring Summary and Highlight Videos
Our first contest was against Boogie Knights and we lost 4-3 in nine innings.
The offense got going in the 2nd inning, when Martini had a hard infield single to the left side and then stole second. JD wedged the ball to left center. Eddy drove in our first RBI by pummeling the ball to the right side.
In the 4th inning, Ev got a single to left side and Martini drove him in with a hard grounder to tally our second score.
In the top of the 7th inning the Cougars were down by a run 3-2. Martini walked and stole second, JD watched four balls, and Eddy had a hard single to the right side to tie it up and go to extras.
Our next match was against Storm and we lost 9-8 in eight innings.
To start the 1st inning, Boom nailed an infield single to the left, and Ev followed with the same to the right. Charley laced a line shot to right to tally one, and Fort lasered the ball to right side to plate another.
In the 3rd inning, Boom beat out an infield single, Ev punched a double to left center to plate a run, and Charley hit a worm burner to right center to plate another run.
Martini flattened a line drive to center in the 4th inning, JD did the same to right, and Bobi bashed an infield single to plate a run. A great catch robbed Eddy of a sure homer down the right field line. Pastor Ted, a savior for the injured Crawdaddy, lined a single to left field for a ribbie.
In the 5th inning, Boom beat out an infield single, Ev demolished the ball to center, and Charley’s hard grounder plated a run.
In the 8th inning, Charley lined a single to right center, and Fort lined a shot to right. Martini perfectly punched it through the infield for the then go-ahead run.
On Tuesday, we fought our opponents, ourselves, the umps, and even the playing surfaces. When it’s a 4 against 1 match, we lose focus.
The only thing that matters on the dirt is flow-cus and foe-cus.
