Happy Friday, Friends!
I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! I am so excited to live this day! 😊
This past week my Beautiful Bride and I spent several nights watching The Captain, an ESPN documentary on the life of former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. For those of you who don’t know who Derek is, let me share a little bit of information with you from his Wikipedia page:
“As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2020; he received 396 of 397 possible votes (99.75%), the second-highest percentage in MLB history (behind only teammate Mariano Rivera) and the highest by a position player. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) and part owner of the league's Miami Marlins from September 2017 to February 2022.”
Derek was a very special baseball player…here is a list of his career highlights and awards:
14× All-Star (1998–2002, 2004, 2006–2012, 2014)
5× World Series champion (1996, 1998–2000, 2009)
World Series MVP (2000)
AL Rookie of the Year (1996)
5× Gold Glove Award (2004–2006, 2009–2010)
5× Silver Slugger Award (2006–2009, 2012)
2× AL Hank Aaron Award (2006, 2009)
Roberto Clemente Award (2009)
New York Yankees captain (2003–2014)
New York Yankees No. 2 retired
Monument Park honoree
Remarkable, right?! And one of my favorite parts about his incredible story – from the time he was a little boy all Derek ever wanted to do was to play shortstop for the New York Yankees! He not only got to live his dream, but it also seemed no moment was too big for him…he seemingly always delivered. To illustrate the point, in his last game, after this ridiculously successful career, he got the game winning! Truly incredible stuff…
In the last episode Derek talks about the one regret he has is that he did not enjoy the moments more. He was always so busy focusing on what is next – the next challenge, the next season, the next championship to be won, etc. – that he did not fully enjoy the moments he was in…and there were so many remarkable ones! Can you relate? Me too!
About 6 years ago I remember this reality slapping me in the face. It seemed that up until that moment I always knew where I was going next, the next challenge, etc. In that moment I realized, I know nothing beyond this moment, this day! I, like you, have had tough days and season of life. I still find living fully present in every moment, simply living one day at a time, the greatest challenge of all!
And as I have sat back and reflected on the different season of life, I can completely relate to Derek’s regret. My Mom and Dad, Nano and Grandpa (I absolutely adored him!!!) are now in Heaven and there are no more moments to sit and talk, to go to ballgames, to go to dinner, to be together… And there are so many times that I did not appreciate the moment! I think about my Tender Warriors. Only one of them lives in the same house I live in now. The days, which seemed so long when they were little, flew by, never to be regained. I absolutely enjoy every moment with them now however I can’t go back and relive the moments playing, wrestling, talking, snuggling… How many moments I so foolishly wasted because I had to get to the next thing, they had to get to bed, or whatever it was that I allowed to steal the moment!
Now listen, this isn’t a message about regret…none of us can change the past, we can only – if we are wise! – learn and grow from it! That is what I want for me and you…that we will learn, grow, and live fully present from this moment forward! So, that is the challenge I throw down for us this week; from this point forward, let’s choose to live fully present in the moment! I don’t know what tomorrow, next week, next month or next year might bring. I simply know that you and I have today…and that is enough!
I want to close by sharing a couple of scriptures/quotes with you:
“The key is this: Meet today’s problems with today’s strength. Don’t start tackling tomorrow’s problems until tomorrow. You do not have tomorrow’s strength yet. You simply have enough for today.” – Max Lucado
“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:34
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.” – Bill Keane
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious families, and please stay well!
Kev
No comments:
Post a Comment