Sheela threw her tennis racket down in anger. She could not
bear to lose a single match. Tears rushed down as she vowed, "No more
sports!!! Never again in my life!!!".
"Oh! dear, take it easy", it was her mom. But she was not ready for her advice. "My dear, winning is not everything...
the journey is more important than destination". But, Sheela was already
leaving the place. Her mom shrugged off murmuring "Time must make the
things alright".
2 years later ......
"My fitness exam was rather easy, right"? Sheela
asked Hema.
"What? Of course not.
Who knows what to do to keep fit? And who cares if I am fit?" Hema
replied .
"Well I just wrote about the warm up exercises I do
before playing tennis and you should care if you are fit because it'll keep you healthy'
"Well, I guess you've found a use for things related to
tennis other than your trophies huh?" asked Hema. Sheela simply nodded not
quite able to believe it herself.
3 years later.....
'Hey we had an essay about sportsmanship. How it’s not only about winning blah blah
blah. I just wrote what my mom keeps
telling me when I lose. I don’t exactly believe it," Sheela told Mercy.
"Well, why don’t you?" Mercy asked. "What
good do you get out of any game except for winning?" Sheela asked.
"You do get a lot of friends due to you playing. I won’t even know you if I hadn't come over
to talk instead of just playing winning and going"
Maybe the essay I wrote was true....Sheela thought, but did
not want to give it another thought.
5 years later......
That day she had been to her friend's club for a meet with
chief guest Sachin. He gave a nice speech saying that rather than the wins it
was the play and the people he met that he enjoyed. It was like an eye opener
for Sheela. She wrote in her diary,
Dear diary,
Today I figured out what took me 10 years to figure out. What I wish I had figured out earlier, what my
mom kept saying (guess she is right about this..again). Yes the journey is what matters, not whether you
win or lose. What have I earned other than the trophies that just sit on the
shelves doing nothing? Well,a lot, starting with sportsmanship, friend and a
lot lot more. I guess I knew this all
along but took me 10 years to accept. So I officially accept today what I denied 10
years ago, what matters most in a game is the journey.
She kept the diary safe to be shown to her mom.
