On That Diamond Mound

I’m not a very athletic person. I rarely watch sports games. I rarely watch games, to be exact. But one day in my life I happened to watch a baseball game. Yes, I’ve seen basketball games, badminton and tennis tournaments, et cetera, but this one’s a bit different. Though it simply was a normal baseball game, something stuck into my head. The principles of playing the game could be applied in real life.
I sat alone on the grass field, a few meters away from the entire baseball diamond. I was actually sitting on a higher ground, where spectators are really supposed to sit on for them to see the action fully. It wasn’t a big game at all. There were only few people watching, mostly children. The players were just two teams of young boys in the neighborhood, finding baseball as a way to get out of being idle. Nobody cheers for them. The children are only there to watch the game and see the action. I was there just to let time pass by.
Then I put myself into the shoes of the player. There I was, seeing the diamond mound in the player’s view. I was overwhelmed by what I am seeing. From this view I noticed how large it is. It must be really glorious to make a homerun. Someone patted on my shoulder. "What’s wrong?" another player asked me. "Uh. Nothing. It’s just that it looked a lot bigger here." I said, in a full voice of a boy. "Yes it is. But it doesn’t matter. We can make homeruns in every diamond, whatever their size is." He replied. I was struck. He spoke like no other carefree boy who usually run around and play with all their might. But I don’t know. He is maybe just too enthusiastic about the game. Maybe this is the game of his life. Maybe this is the game of their lives, of our lives, of my life.
Several players have batted before my turn. I observed them well. First, you have to prepare, or probably make a good stretch and do the right pose to be direct with the ball that is to be thrown. If you strike it too far, a homerun is possible. All you need for that is not luck, but strength, since the bat is amazingly heavy. You have to carry the bat well. Actually, it seems like you have to be one with the bat. It’s what they call coordination. I say it’s collecting you altogether.
When it’s a good strike, seize the day. Take the opportunity to run through the bases. When you’re caught, there’s always another chance. Being caught twice is a now-or-never situation. To be safe and successful, you can only be caught once. Nevertheless, you have to run and complete the diamond before the time runs out, that is the time used by the other team to retrieve the ball. If you reached the goal once, you can actually reach it again and again. We can achieve our dreams again and again until we cease to dream. The strategy here is to create a good strike and seize the opportunity.
I was then again back into where I sat. It was a good game after all. They lay on their backs laughing happily. And I was happy too, because in that moment, I learned something. Just looking at children play on the diamond mound gave me a lesson.