Last weekend, I went with my family to Federal Way to watch my daughter swim in the Washington State swimming championships.
She qualified in four events, which was quite an accomplishment—the 50 and 100 meter single freestyle, plus the 200 and 400 freestyle relay.
Her goal at the beginning of the season was to place at the state level in one single event, so to place in two singles, plus two relays, was a major thrill for her and her teammates. They felt like winners before they arrived, and rightfully so.
I have much to learn about swimming competition, but one record keeping practice caught my attention this weekend like never before.
To place at the state level, a swimmer must beat predetermined times during the meets they compete at in the three months preceding the state competition. Once they get a state time at a local or district meet, they are in. It doesn’t matter if times at succeeding meets are worse. The good time they achieved stays locked into their record until they better it.
I pondered the value of adopting this practice of keeping track of the best score with all aspects of life.
How many of us keep track and record in thought only the best times we have?
Do we remember the best things our spouse said to us? Do we remember only the compliments and praise that came from our boss? Do we mentally lock onto only the happy times of our past?
Or, do we break the rule of “cling to your best time,” and dwell on the mean things other people said, or the weak moments when our spouse uttered a scouring word, or a time of failing we wished had never happened?
I’ve learned from watching my daughter swim.
When she gets a bad time, she looks me in the eye and says, “It doesn’t matter dad. I already beat it in the past. Only my good time counts.” She doesn’t fret and fume over the failures. She focuses only on besting her best time. And that’s where she puts all her time, energy and attention.
Isn’t there a metaphysical lesson here for us all?
Our whole thought, time and attention should be focused on besting our best time too. We should not waste one milli-second moaning or despairing over the bad times. They don’t matter. It’s the best time that counts.
And the best time, from a spiritual point of view, is the record established in divine Mind by God.
God created us perfect, with a whole, complete, happy and healthy Life to express and fulfill. This Life is the best, and anything less is not worthy of attention, time or energy.
Soooo, keep track of the best times, not the worse times. Don’t be a hard drive for error. Focus on the good and only the good, and your best times will be replaced by even better times.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, my daughter made it to consolations in all events. She did well, and looks forward to besting her times for next year.
Congratulations, Jenna! A great metaphysical analogy.
What are consolations?
In a State swim meet, all competitors compete the first day in what is called “The prelims.” The top 8 go on to compete the next day in the finals, and the 9-16 place swimmers compete the next day in the consolations.
Everyone strives to be in the top 8, but getting into the consolations is a very high achievement too, because, afterall, it is the top 9-16 swimmers in the whole State.
This is a great example of striving for the good only. It seems like we only concentrate on the negative aspects of life. The news is full of it, the constant reporting of what a celebrity has done wrong, etc. It bombards us daily and to see how Jenna handles this in her swimming is quite refreshing. This is what Jesus did everyday and left for us to carry on. I am grateful for your blog in that it is so practical in it’s application to daily living; the good God bestows on us if we listen.
Like posting only the best times, not the worst,here’s my little joy-producing sing-songery:
“Only the right is real;
Only the good is true.”
What if your best was way back when! Remembering just the best is like living in the past. Let’s say your best time was when you were a teenager and you’re many decades older. Thinking only on the past accomplishment may not be a consolation, but a source of depression.
To above,
To your question, “What if your best was decades back?”
I would do some serious soul searching.
Our best should be in the present. Life is ever-progressive. This is God’s law and available for all of us to demonstrate.
The “best” of course cannot be measured in a material way. Material conditions are fleeting and temporary. The “best” should be measured in spiritual terms, in the form of “Where am I spiritually?”
As we spiritually progress in our understanding of infinite Life, our human experience with life improves. We conquer limiting beliefs and experience more and more of the infinite possibilities of God’s grand good. This marks our pathway to heaven–to heavenly consciousness–where there are no limits.
I believe our human experience should be marked by ever-increasing evidences of good at work in our life as we grow in spiritual understanding and demonstration.