Are you there?

Yes, we are here.

Last time we were in the middle of a discussion about sports and I would like to pick that up where we left off.

Of course. When we spoke previously, you said that you had become aware of some unpleasant feelings you were experiencing while watching sporting events and you were wondering if it is at all possible to enjoy sports without any emotional investment in the outcome. Is that accurate?

Yes, it is. I like watching sports, especially tennis and football, and I don’t want to give that up, but sometimes it almost makes me physically sick when my favorite team or player loses and that doesn’t seem right to me. Let me ask you this – does who wins or loses have any meaning for you?

Let us start by saying that participation in competitive sports, like all human activities, is an opportunity for growth and expansion. If that were not true, there would no such thing as sports on the Earth plane. And we would never seek to downplay the challenges created by both winning and losing that contribute to the development of a professional athlete. The grit and determination shown by professional athletes often inspire others to face obstacles they might otherwise avoid.

But…

But, in truth, it is of no real consequence to us who wins or who loses in a sporting event. That is not where our focus lies. What we do enjoy is the athleticism, the sheer physicality of sporting events, along with the grace, the energy, the heart and spirit of the game. That is what attracts us. That is what brings us pleasure.

So, is it possible for a human being to watch a sporting event, even one that involves their favorite player or team, and enjoy themselves no matter what the result?

Yes, of course it is possible, if that is what you want. How you feel when your player wins or loses is up to you. Like everything else in your experience, it is a choice.

Doesn’t really feel that way.

Only because you do not know how to fully detach from the outcome. Or to put it more accurately, you have not remembered yet how to detach while focused within your physical form. But that does not mean it is impossible, even though it might seem that way to you. Part of the difficulty in detaching from the outcome centers on your strong identification with a player or team.

Yes, I’m aware of that. I want my player or team to win because I know that if they do, I will also feel as if I had won. Unfortunately, the same holds true for any bad feelings I may experience if my player or team loses.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to emulate those individuals who you see as holding qualities that you wish to focus on in your own life, but when you identify too strongly with sports figures or anyone else who you see as accomplished or successful, you risk losing your own sense of self. Their victories become your victories and their defeats, your defeats. That is what occurs when you allow your emotions to be influenced by another’s behavior. That is when you need to stop and take a close look at the choices you are making.

That can be very difficult to do sometimes because it is identification with the player or team that draws you into the competition and keeps you engaged. The feeling of winning can also be quite addictive.

You believe, as most human persons do, that winning is the primary goal, not just in sports, but in all human endeavors. Yes, it feels good to win. That is only natural. And if you enjoy the feelings that come with an emotional investment in the outcome of any chosen activity, good or bad, then you are entitled to make that choice with no judgement from us. But when your level of self-worth begins to rely on whether or not you “win” at whatever you set your mind to, that is when you may want to consider a change.

It does seem hard to avoid an emotional investment in the outcome of pretty much everything that we undertake in our lives.

You have a saying on the Earth plane. “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” We realize that while this type of expression sounds good, it is very difficult for most human persons to emulate, in large part because you are still at a place in Earth’s evolution where much of your activity, not just sports, is seen through the lens of winning or losing, victory or defeat, profit or loss. Even your artistic awards are designed along the lines of a competition, pitting one artist against another, one film or play against another. Within this context, a loss makes you feel bad, sometimes for a long time. A victory makes you feel good, but eventually you need another contest, another opportunity for a WIN! It is a cycle that continues over and over again in all aspect of human endeavor and remains that way until you decide that you want to experience something different.

It is true that competition drives much of what we do, whether it is competition with others or competition with our own egos.

Let’s take a look at the activity you are currently engaged in, which is transcribing our conversation. You may not realize it, but you are, in this moment, operating under a win/loss paradigm.

How so?

When you are transcribing the posts for our blog, you sometimes get excited and you sometimes get frustrated, in much the same way you would if you were playing a game. When things go smoothly and you complete a posting to your satisfaction, you see that as a win. When you are transcribing and you hit a snag – you can’t hear our voice, you are distracted by another problem of some kind, you are simply too tired to write – you tend to view that as a loss. It is the same with almost everything you do as a human person. It all boils down to how you judge your performance. That is really what the win/loss paradigm is all about. A victory is considered good and a loss is considered bad. That is not to say a sense of accomplishment is unimportant. Just that the “trophy” is not the most crucial element. On the path to enlightenment, as you strive to remember who you really are, the trophy is the joy you find in the experience itself, win or lose. So, enjoy the experience for what it is, and then move on.

This has been a wonderful discussion. I think we’ll stop there.

Until next time then.

Thank you all.

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