Top of the Ninth musings on the 280 at dusk….

Wondering if I could look at what's happening in Washington the way I look at a Mariners game. When the Mariners lose in a season like we're having, I am crushed and depressed for the rest of the day. Driving up the 280 with the fog rolling in, headed towards Half Moon Bay, listening to the game, it’s the top of the ninth. Julio battles and battles and battles, fouling off pitch after pitch only to finally strikeout with two men on. A walk off loss…? Ms lose 4-3 in the top of the ninth. The juxtaposition of the pit I feel in my stomach at the loss, up against the shimmer and sparkle of the early evening as it floats down, wafting sweetly onto the highway and making it pretty, reminds me of the paradox that Richard Rohr talks about: the magic of the crucible, the delicate balance in nature that allows us to hold both the beauty and the hollow.

As I was listening to Julio's plate appearance—which went on for some minutes—contemplating the reality that we might just in fact lose, but wanting so much to win, I thought to myself: could I be okay with that? Can I recognize that it's just a game, one game out of 165, pleasant to listen to while driving as the sun goes down. Can I detach from the results? After all it's not me at the plate. And win or lose, the game’s outcome is not going to keep anybody from proceeding with their day. It won't stop the sun from going down, or coming up tomorrow. It's just what we call—as in “John Kerry speak”—a happening. It is a happening. Can I watch and enjoy the happening? Or do I have to get caught up in the drama? If I'm able to sit back and watch and enjoy the game, bearing the risk of loss, enjoying the opportunity for a win, can I not regard what's going on in Washington with the same sort of detachment? Detachment. My emotional investment in what's happening in the game or indeed what's happening in Washington, will not affect either outcome. It only affects me (and perhaps the people around me who have to watch me either get really upset or really excited)…. Us. As Russell Wilson says: don't get too high, don't get too low. What would it be to do that? As Donald Trump slips through these many indictments? What would it be like to watch as a detached observer. What would it be like to not get too high and not get too low? I wonder.