This post isn’t about sports…so if you want me to ‘stick to sports’, read the next post…these are just thoughts about how I’m handling what is going on in this unprecedented season for a guy who happens to be a co-founder of a Purdue Sports blog.
-BDowd (4/1/20)
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This isolation season has been tough on everyone for one reason or another. Missing the NCAA tournament and sports in general has been taxing on me simply because I love the outlet and the diversion, of being able to take something seriously that simply is not all that serious. Sure, sport is big business, and in competition we learn a lot about what makes us ‘tick’. But as we witness a virus reek havoc throughout the world, and as lives are claimed, everything seems serious right now…and I miss days of yore…you know, long ago- February of 2020, when things were a bit lighter.
I posted a Purdue basketball greats bracket as a distraction, a diversion, from the garbage that’s on our televisions and phones. Hopefully you have enjoyed it a bit. I can tell you that the preparation of the bracket along with Lil’ Boilerdowd was one of the most fun things that I’ve done in the last few weeks. We spent four hours on a Sunday pouring over stats, researching and talking through the bracket…That’s what sports are about to me. Instead of watching the NCAA tournament together, we got to actually create a bracket…that was worth a lot, even if the end result isn’t worth a ton. I am super-glad that 500-1000 votes have been casted on most matchups via Twitter…it shows me that others are finding some solace in the siliness.
When you have no where to go, and work is slower than usual, time simply crawls. In my adult life, I’ve always considered two weeks as a blink of an eye. Right now, I’m back to my view of time as it was when I was a kid…Two weeks seems like an eternity once again. I’ve fixed things around the house, cooked some unusual dishes, set work-related goals, played basketball with my kids, lifted dumbells in my basement and have done yardwork. I’ve never been much of a sleeper, but have been getting a full seven plus hours during the last few weeks. And yet, time crawls along.
I’ve set limits on how much I will watch/read news sources simply because it has caused me to lose sleep and become anxious about things that I have no control over. I have been walking nearly every day…for nearly an hour at a time, just to clear my head and organize my thoughts…and I hate walking, merely to walk. After all, to me, walking is what we do to get to an activity, not the activity in itself. But these days, it’s been an imperative tool for me.
I’m reminded by scripture to never be anxious…and am struggling following this advice. But at the same time I know anxiety and worry does me no good. Being proactive, vigilant and controlling things I can control, should always be my focus, not just in the Spring of 2020. This season kind of feels like I’m preparing for a test in which I have been given half of the lecture notes and have missed the class all-together. I have studied, and I am trying to understand, but the professor and his department heads don’t even fully grasp what the class is about. So I am over-preparing, instead of actually learning.
I have little trust in the media, so when I hear something, I go seek additional sources of truth or the base information that they’re reporting. I don’t trust politicians on either side of the aisle at their word, because it seems like nearly everyone in high office is seeking to capitalize on this disaster…this time of war. All of that said, I have tons of faith in innovation, and still have a high amount of optimism that some good will come out of this season…good news and tangible reasons for hope are needed. Not only for me, but for most people. “Hope differed makes the heart sick, but longing fulfilled is the tree of life.”
Plus, as much as I enjoy just working independently and away from an office, I need people around me- for inspiration, positivity, wisdom, camaraderie and honesty. Twitter and other social media has its positive points, if you dig for them, but they are a bit of a cesspool when it comes to truth and breathing life into people that they desperately need. Let’s all vow, or at least try, not to get bothered/upset by people that we’d never seek advice from…and to find our hope from trusted sources. Whether it be scripture, doctors, friends or prayer, there is much to be thankful for, even in the time of isolation.
I have been praying for understanding during this season, and haven’t gotten there…yet. I will pray for all of us throughout today; for our safety, our patience with others and the situation and a seemingly quick end to this season. I am thankful for the skilled/caring hands of doctors, nurses and medical personnel, as they do the work that they even do not want to do. And am excited to hear the news in which cures and treatments for the virus have been advanced to the point that we have something real in which we can invest our hope.
Praying for your family,
BDowd
