You've Gotta Go Down Swinging

 I grew up with a baseball Dad. He likes other sports, but baseball is his favorite. By a wide margin.

I became captivated by the 1998 home run race and we went to a lot of games together. We live in Illinois but in the shadow of the St. Louis Arch, so we're Cardinals fans. Despite the revelations that have come to light in the interim, it was an exhilarating time to be a part of Cardinals Nation.

But that's not the point of my post. My point is that, like a lot of sports fans I know, my dad uses sports metaphors for many life questions. The one that I think has stuck with me most over the years is "There's no shame in striking out as long as you go down swinging." (Walking is fine, too, of course, it the pitcher isn't throwing strikes.)

What this means, to me, is that the only way you truly fail is if you don't try. This is where my perspective that I can't give in to my health problems originates. If they really do take me out of the game, that's OK, as long as I did what I could to stop that from happening. I certainly falter at times, but eventually I get it together and try again.

I mentioned that I am enrolled in a writing course with SARK. One of the things I write is whimsical rhyming poems on all kinds of topics in the realm of personal development. (I even had one published which SARK herself endorsed! And it just happens to be on sale for $5.46 at that link right now...)

But that's not what we're talking about right now. We're talking about going down swinging. So here you go...

                                           Blowing It

Now you’ve really done it. You’ve messed up big this time.

You can barely think of a punishment severe enough to fit your crime.

The sense of shame and guilt is so strong you just can't lift your head.

You long to crawl under the covers and never leave your bed.

Wallowing can feel exquisite when we believe we deserve our pain.

And we can grow to love the melody of self-blame’s endless refrain.

But a danger lies in curling up with misery and despair.

They trick us into thinking we cannot move on from there.

They fail to mention a simple truth tear-stained eyes can’t always see.

No matter what mistake you’ve made, you’re only as stuck as you choose to be.

If this little bit of rhyme has you feeling quite perplexed.

Stop regretting what you’ve already done. What will you do *next*?

There’s simply no undoing things that lie in the past.

But the power of the present is wonderful and vast.

What can you do in this moment to chart a different course?

When channeled into change, regret is a formidable force.

Human beings make mistakes. There’s just no way around it.

If there’s a way to avoid messing up, I don’t think anyone’s found it.

So the truth of who you are inside is not found when you blunder.

It’s revealed in where you go from there - just in case you wonder.

Honesty and humility. Admitting that you were wrong.

Saying sorry and meaning it. These will help you right along.

Then look for the lesson you needed to learn from the whole unpleasant mess.

It’s the surest way to not wind up right back in the same distress.

Once you’ve learned, put the whole affair squarely in the rear view mirror.

And don’t look back, only ahead. That road is so much clearer.

It will lead you on along your path to the person you’re meant to be.

Still not perfect, prone to slipping up, but nevertheless: FREE.

- Melanie R. Cannon, 2016

Oh, and for anyone else who grew up with all this sports talk as advice, you may enjoy this video from one of my all-time favorite TV shows, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.