Time to take some drastic steps

I just finished reading Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture." It is a fast read about all that really matters in life. I was quickly reminded that it is too easy to get caught up in the details of life's mosaic. The pieces that are really ugly when you look at them up close can be part of a beautiful picture when you back up to look at the entire scene.

We've been given some ugly pieces so far this season. Early injuries, difficult opponents, a relatively young roster and unlucky bounces and calls are all ugly pieces to what I truly believe will be a phenomenal picture when all is said and done.

I believe that because I've seen this team when no one else is watching. I've seen the character of players who run in the dark to get conditioning because they were not put into the lineup for a game. I've seen players commit to what they can give to practice, even if it means they have to run off with all of their gear to make it to class on time. I've seen the team rally around our injured and express immense gratitude for the generosity of our many parents.

The pieces we have been given may be ugly, but it matters more how we arrange those pieces to get the finished product that we want.

Pausch did not use the mosaic analogy, but rather made reference to brick walls in our lives. Walls that are put there to see who has it in them to get over them. The walls are put there to keep out "the other people". We don't yet have entire walls, but rather the bricks. We can let the bricks build upon themselves until there really are walls, or we can manipulate them to be steps in another direction. I vote for building the drastic steps!