The Up Side

Life is a series of opportunities to change your perspective. Yesterday morning, things looked pretty bleak. I was ready to put the house up for sale and move to Idaho or Montana - someplace where the trees aren't staked to the ground. I was full and overflowing with the pain of urban living.
Yesterday afternoon I went with my family up to Berkeley to watch a Cal Women's basketball game. I'm a sports fan, and always happy to lend my voice to the local university's cheering section - but this was a special day. It was elementary school day, and the lady that runs our sports program arranged for the girls on our basketball team to get tickets and go up to see the game. I went up with my wife and kid as some kind of chaperone, but it wasn't really necessary. There were five of us staff members (including a fifth grade teacher and most of our office staff) with the seven girls from the team.
The girls were amazed and impressed. I don't think any of them had ever made the trip over the hill from Oakland to visit the University of California campus. They made signs, they got bear-claw tattoos on their cheeks, they cheered, but most of all they watched. They watched the Cal Bears hang on to beat the Oregon Ducks 49 to 39. They watched two local girls, both Oakland high school products, lead the Bears in scoring. They watched the passing and the defense, and they watched the teamwork.
Would it have been different if "our team" hadn't won? Maybe a little, but yesterday I was reminded that I need to be there for these kids to show them opportunities when they come up. I have a lot of opportunities to introduce perspective.