Monday; July 8

I have been a baseball fan for a lot of years and that means I have listened to a lot of different people with diverse styles broadcast the action on the field.  As you might imagine, I have a few favorites and one of them is Victor Rojas who is now doing the play-by-play for the California Angels.  Some of you who are a little older might  recognize that last name and, yes, he is the son of former major-leaguer Cookie Rojas.  Victor has been around the game for years so I was interested in his observations about the recent death of Tyler Skaggs, the Angels pitcher who passed away last week.  In an interview Victor noted that while we tend to take our sports seriously, when something like the death of a 27-year-old happens, it makes us stop and refocus on what really is important.  Fans, players, organizations and broadcasters have the tendency to put too much emphasis on a “children’s game” so when life and amusement intersect, we have to refocus to keep an appropriate perspective.
As I reflected on his observation, it got me to thinking about how many things we tend to blow out of perspective.  No, sports is the only thing that tends to get fuzzy – so does show business, politics, hobbies, social media, most types of employment and social trends (just to name a few).  Just as the death of a young person can help us refocus away from superficial things (such as a ball game), the potential end of a friendship or the loss of our good name over a frivolous pursuit or a strongly held opinion might help us stay focused on what is legitimately important.   
Let’s be okay with having favorites and opinions , but let’s make sure we keep things in the proper perspective.  It can keep us balanced and can help us maintain our  relationship and a good name.
Think About It!

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