Yogi Kobe

“Man must realize his own unimportance - before he can appreciate his importance.” R. M. Baumgardy

I suppose that many people out there share my problem or know someone who shares my problem. I am emotionally over-invested in the success of a sports team. When my team wins, I’m fired up and my night is amazing. When my team loses, I just want to go to sleep. When my team wins, I wake up excited and devour the sports section of the newspaper. When my team loses, I wake up on the wrong side of the bed. When my team wins, I let my little pet mouse out to play. When my team loses, it's not just me that's mad. I know. It’s pathetic. There are a lot more important things in the world than the success of a sports team.

However, I’ve come to realize that maybe there is deeper meaning in my fascination with the Lakers (that's my team). The last few years I’ve watched their headliner Kobe Bryant try to rise up as a superstar only to lose in the first round of the playoffs. But this year Kobe has become part of a great supporting cast that plays as a unit. Kobe has struck just the right balance of asserting his otherworldly skills when necessary yet also blending into the team as a great passer and leader. Striking this balance is one of life’s great challenges.

We all spend so much time asserting ourselves to succeed in our jobs, in our relationships, in our marriages. Who in their right mind doesn’t aspire to be a superstar as a parent, or to stand out in their company, or to win in some other aspect of life? In one’s effort to succeed and stand out, it’s easy to throw life into overdrive leaving little time to stop, lie down, and listen. The humbling idea of blending in requires time, skill, and practice.

Here are some ways to embrace humility and work toward life’s ultimate championship: deep inner peace.

1. Bow

“Until you transcend the ego, you will do nothing but add to the insanity of the world.” John Randolph Price

2. Listen

“What makes humility so desirable is the marvelous thing it does to us. It creates in us a capacity for the closest possible intimacy with the divine.” Monica Baldwin


3. Don’t Show Your Underwear

“Humility is like underwear, essential, but indecent if it shows.” Helen Nielsen

• If Dogs Run Free Bob Dylan
• She Talks to Angels The Black Crowes
• Sweet Baby featuring Erykah Badu, Macy Gray
• Turn Your Lights Down Low Bob Marley & Lauryn Hill
• Eyes Without a Face Billy Idol
• Lately The Helio Sequence
• Gideon My Morning Jacket
• No One's Gonna Love You Band Of Horses
• Long Live Rock The Who
• That's the Way Led Zeppelin
• The Long Road Eddie Vedder & Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
  

*inspired by The NBA is the USA, by Neal Gabler, LA Times, 4/27/08