On believing.

If you know me you know I love baseball, specifically the St. Louis Cardinals. I love the game, I love the venues, I love the seasons it is played in,I love the memories it creates,  but that is all for another day. I bring this up because I want to write a bit about a quote their recently retired manager, Tony La Russa, said when being asked about the miraculous game six the Cards ended up winning against all odds.

When being interviewed about his thoughts during the game he said he always believed they would win. When asked why, he said,

"Because it is more fun to believe"

 This simple statement struck me on so many levels. I am married to an eternal optimist. Ryan refuses to ever see anything but the bright side of things. While in the past I have believed this only sets you up for disappointment or heartache, watching Ryan for the past five years has taught me this isn't the case. He is happy, has peace all the time, and takes things in stride. When the outcome is bad despite his hopes, he shrugs it off with ease and never regrets the hope he had while going through the experience. Any sporting event we watch (which is A LOT), he has always asked me, "do you believe?". It is simple but complex question.

So Ryan and La Russa really had me thinking. This thought can really be applied to so many things. Isn't is more fun to believe? Isn't it more fun to imagine success rather than failure? Isn't it more fun to hope for the best outcome in any situation? Isn't it more fun to believe everything will always be ok one way or another? This blind faith and hope in things might be considered naive to some, but to me, it is an attitude I want to adopt fully in my life. It is more fun to believe, in yourself, in the people around you, in your goals, in the Lord, in surviving, and even in your favorite team's ability to win the World Series when it seems impossible.

I have always been bogged down with the "what ifs" that kill my hope and belief. I have thought it is just a young stupid mistake to always believe in the best without weighing all that could go wrong. But why? Why not choose hope, belief, and happiness? Sure, things won't always work out. Things will go wrong. We will be disappointed  Life will be hard. But if you aren't going to try and believe in yourself and in the things you want most, then who will? And when they do not turn out as planned, have you lost anything by spending the process being positive and hopeful? I don't think so. I understand this is a concept that can be argued, but for me, I think it is more fun to believe.

Also? Let's all get ready for another season of MLB! Go Cards!