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Bowling for Life
By Sheri McGregor

 I went bowling the other day. Amazing how a new activity can add vigor to your life! Suddenly, sleeping muscles came awake and new skills were learned. Like aiming over the arc of the ball and between two fingers while trying to step (one, two, three) casually up to the line, then swinging the ball at just the right time, and letting go so that it sails forward, stops its spinning and glides toward the  . . . oops into the gutter again.    

Oh well. 

All those gutter balls made me realize how much bowling is like life. All the times you try and fail. Or don't try yet succeed. Or even try, sail ever closer to the goal, and then some unexpected curve throws you into the gutter again. What do we do? We keep on truckin' as the old saying goes.

Life is about challenge. Whether it is health, emotional, time or money issues, we rise to the challenge--head on, over the top of a seemingly insurmountable wall, or even squeezing in beneath--and keep on keeping on.

Motivation
In the bowling alley, even though I hadn't hit a single pin on most of my turns, I jumped out of the seat, actually looking forward to trying again! If everyone around me could do it, why couldn't I? 

During my time on the bench, I watched other bowlers. I studied the way they stepped up to the line, aimed and hurled their ball down the slick floor. And I learned from their techniques. I began to try to emulate. Eventually I did begin to knock down a few pins. I even made a strike by accident on one of my final turns--quite a surprise. Even that happy accident taught me something about aiming for the goal. How many times in life do we aim for a goal and fail? We may stumble into the gutter but by learning from our mistakes, we can bounce back for a strike!

Other People's Problems
Are there people you know who seem to have it all? They look pulled together, they're smart, have a great family and a smile for everyone they meet. We all know people like that. But what we sometimes don't know is that their lives are often filled with as much sorrow as our own. These people rise to the occasion and get on with it. Isn't that what life is all about?

Often, we won't know about others' problems because we're wrapped up in our own.

This week, try to get to know someone you've admired from afar. A business associate, a mentor of sorts, a teacher . . . someone who you've always felt has it made. You may think that you can't just go up and start asking probing questions. You're right. But if you make the simple gestures of friendship, you may be surprised at how open another person becomes. Sometimes saying, "How are you?" is all it takes. And you may find that that this person needs a friend just like you.

This week, let go of your own problems just long enough to bowl in the game of life. Study those you want to emulate and no matter how many gutter balls life throws you, jump off the bench with the courage to try again.  

All material on the www.motherswhodream.com website is copyrighted
by Sheri McGregor and may not be reproduced without express permission.