Story #1 — The Encounter
She stood at the center of the field with one leg resting on her football. Her body in a relaxed stance, eyes closed, facing upwards, enjoying the light drizzle beneath the overcast sky. Suddenly, she pulled her leg back, her face assuming an expression of fierce focus, and brought it forth grazing the ball at an angle, setting it in motion.
Most people believe that without emptying your mind, one cannot play good football. Psshh, like that, is even possible. Football is just like driving. Keep playing enough and it becomes second nature, almost reflexive. Every sweep of my leg, every thrust to the ball, every contact with its spherical surface, followed by the ball’s subsequent trajectory is already known.
Suddenly, she swept the ball sideways along its lower right tangent and immediately increased her pace in a direction not quite the same as her ball. The ball skidded for a few seconds and then curved back inward to meet her legs and she continued with it as before.
So much for making a point to myself. But, a good driver doesn’t stop at understanding just the car. She begins to analyze her surroundings, tries to understand their effect on her driving, and slowly begins to use them to her advantage. In my playing field, I have the wind and the rain. Look how they serve my will.
