The Blue Jays and the Added On

 But seek ye first the Kingom of God and His righteousness; and all these things will be added onto you.

Matthew 6: 33 KJV 

I am thinking about "the added on" at the same time I think about the amazing game I watched last night: Game 7 of the world series between the Jays and the Dodgers. I am Canadian and the Toronto Blue Jays represent this country.  I had the opportunity to see them play a few times in person at the Dome when my sister lived in TO. Anyway, yeah like most people in this vast country, I really, really wanted them to take the series. The game was absolutely nerve bending. I have never seen a game like it-where it was so, so close with both teams playing an absolutely fantastic game to the absolute nail biting end!! Torontarians really were hopeful from the onset...preparing for massive celebrations in the streets around Roger's Center. And it really, really looked like they might win...

But...they didn't. 

What has this game got to do with a bible passage, Crazy lady?  Are you saying the team and fans didn't get the added-on because they were being shown that they were not faithful enough...that they should  have prayed more?

No...that is not what I am saying...at all.  And from the camera footage of faces both in the dug out and in the stadium...people were praying like I never seen people pray before. lol. I am just looking at this "added-on" as this thing on the end of a stick most of us go after; and I am questioning if we are missing something when the carrot becomes more important than the steps we are taking, the experience we are having in this reality of what is. I am looking at our attachment to outcome. 

Say what, crazy lady??? 

Winning the series was the carrot, right? All teams in the MLB work really, really hard game after game, practice after practice, injury after injury, win after win, defeat after defeat...to get that thing dangling in front of them. They believe they are doing it all for that outcome. It can become the most important thing, when all it is is an added-on. An "added-on" is not necessarily a need or something that will sustain us.  It is just an added piece of bling to an already complete warddrobe.

Huh? Anyway, what about "seek ye first for the Kingdom of God and His righteousness". What does that mean and what has that got to do with the Blue Jays? Are you saying that they all should be more like Christ and then maybe they could  win a title? 

Yes and no.  I am definitely not saying they have to be Christians in the sense of  adhering to  a certain dogma and doctrine man created and called "Christian".  I am simply saying, maybe we all should look at what Christ might have meant by these words. I think this bible passage means...and what the heck do I know, right?...but I think it means: seek the joy, peace, love, bliss in this moment, in you and this Life you have been given to live. Live according to that in a wholesome, loving way...serving the moment, serving humanity, serving all beings on this planet, serving Life by enjoying Life...and then you will be following Christ's direction of seeking first the Kingdom of God which is in you already. (Nor will they say, "Here it is" or "There!" for behold the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you. Luke 17:21ESV).

Regardless of Outcome  

When we do this, we will be experiencing and living Life fully...enjoying it, embracing it, honoring it, and all beings in it regardless of the outcome! We are not seeking the "added-on" when we seek "Heaven" first, we are simply seeking the joy of this experience of living, and  embracing the moment in front of us regadless of what it offers, regardless of any outcome.  If we do end up with the added-on...great!!! If we don't...it won't matter so much! Its just bling.

Observing the Joy of Living

Watching these teams play last night I had this overwhelming sense they were so completely in the zone, so in the moment, so in the life that was unfolding in front of them...that the carrot that lead them there suddenly disappeared. For eleven breath-holding-innings, the players were embracing Life with its hits and its strike outs, its home runs and its runs batted ins, its catches in outfield that were out of this world and its double plays infield that could barely be caught with the human eye.  For every fan that had the courage  to look between the cracks in fingers covering their eyes, it was such a beautiful, beautiful game to watch. It was inspiring and exhilarating to be a part of that as an observer. It must have been an even more exhilarating game to play. 

It was like the drama of life played out before us...with characters rising up and characters falling down...there were flashes of hope, followed by floods of  of disappointment.  There was the expectation built up and the expectation crushed down...but through it all there were the actors putting on a brilliant performance, so lost in their roles that the audience was on the stage with them. It was so obvious they enjoyed playing the game! That's what made the difference. 

It was also like a dance. Though there appeared to be two separate teams...there was only one dance and both danced beautifully together. Call it synchronicity, call it random variables, call it whatever...the Dogers were able to add one more little step to the dance that the Jays were not able to follow. L.A.  got the carrot they were both seeking.  That doesn't mean that the Jays didn't dance well too...they were absolutely fantastic! But...someone in a pair has to take the last step ...this time if was the Dodgers. 

And this is Life...this is experiencing what Christ meant, I believe. Enjoy the play, enjoy the dance...whether you are watching or up there on stage. This ...whatever is unfolding in front of you...be it a win or a loss...is the Heaven you are looking for.

What about that "added-on" ? That carrot?

Most of us seek the carrot because we think it is going to make us feel better....it is going to bring the joy, the love, the bliss. That carrot for the average person could be the great job, the soul mate, the ideal of family, a certain amount of money in the bank, a fancy car or  a social image of success. For the MLB player it is the World Series. So we set our goals, do the work, and go after it. Our focus becomes the carrot that is always up ahead...not this moment. We miss the moment. And the moment is where Heaven is.  When we acheive the thing we were seeking or receive the thing we wanted...we are high for a few moments...until the next carrot is put up in front of us. When we don't get what we were seeking from the external world...we feel great disappointment and loss, thinking, "Look at all the work I did to get this...all I sacrificed and gave up...and I didn't get it!" 

No One Lost!

If you are already full to the brim with the experience of Life...what is a wrinkly old carrot going to give you? What is a little bit more bling going to add to your life? You need to see that you could have gotten "It!" if "It" wasn't the carrot but the Heaven of the moment you were in. If what you were seeking was the joy of Life, the Heaven of being alive that was already within you...than if you went there seeking that first instead of after the carrot...you would have gotten and experienced what was truly important.  The trophies, the wins, the material things we might gain...are just "added-ons"...meaning they are not the essential gifts of Life...just little extras, a little bling. And if you already have Heaven , what do these things add to your Life in the true sense?...absolutely nothing. 

When players play ball like both teams played last night...the carrot was not the important thing, being in that game and giving it all one has...was.  And man did they show how much they loved to play the game, how much they were in this Life, by the performance they put on. Both teams won! The Dodger's got the carrot and they deserved it but what both teams got was alot more than an added-on...they received, and shared the joy of living, a little "heaven" with the world.

All is well.