Winning Spirit

Things won are done, joy's soul lies in the doing.
-- William Shakespeare

I have a seven year old nephew who plays basketball for the YMCA. Unlike when I was a kid, the score is not kept in these games. Yet, after a game my nephew is certain that his team won. The worst case scenario was one time when he declared that the game was a tie. Again, there is no score kept in these games. I’m positive that my nephew is not diligently keeping score in his head. When he’s not playing he’s busy laughing with his team-mates on the bench. Still, he is a winner each and every time.

As an adult my first reaction to this is to think it is cute. He is enjoying the innocence of childhood. However, upon deeper reflection I begin to think that my seven year old nephew has something to teach us adults.

Why do adults feel that in order to win somebody else must lose? My nephew is filled with joy and excitement when he plays basketball. He is with friends. He is playing a game that is fun. Winning is in the playing of the game. Winning is being with friends on a Saturday afternoon. Winning is the knowledge that Dad is going to take him out for ice-cream after the game. Nowhere in this equation is there the need for somebody to lose.

As adults, the games give way to career. Playing gives way to “working out”. Winning means that somebody else must lose. I think I like my nephew’s way better.

From now on I’m going to try to remember his way of winning: Having fun, being with friends, and trusting that after the “game” my Father will fill me with good things. My nephew is a pretty smart little boy.