Zen moments

[vostoklake]

So there I am, goalieing my heart out for the Auckland Harps against the Paddies (spot the theme naming in Gaelic football, folks), and a penalty is awarded against us. (For those not familiar, penalties in Gaelic are taking pretty much the same way as in soccer.) Now, some people would think that penalties are scary, but not really for the goalie - no-one really expects you to save it, so there's no pressure.

So the Paddies striker is lining up the ball, and for some reason the position of her feet gives me the idea that she's not altogether confident kicking the ball off the ground. So I just relax at that point.

And from there, it's just a blur. My mind "switches off", and next I know I've dived full to my right, and the ball is bouncing away harmlessly out of my hands. I didn't think about it, I just did it, there was never any stress, and everything works out fine.

Now if I could summon that kind of "effortless effort" at will, not just on special occasions on the sports field, I would be truly enlightened.

Comments

[mainfisch]

"Effortless efforts" are an essential skill, aren't they? Think of shifting gears when driving a car, or playing an instrument. Congrats on getting there on the turf. :-)