Hope Never Dies

One of my all-time favorite movies is Shawshank Redemption. If you haven’t seen it, you should. It’s timeless—as good today as when it was released.

I’ll not get into the details, but near the end of the movie, Morgan Freeman’s character Red is reading a letter from his buddy Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins. At the end of the letter is the take home message from the movie:  “Hope never dies.”

Hope never dies…I love that phrase.

When the days are the darkest, when the path is hardest, we hang on to the hope of better days, of easier paths. Hope sustains us. Hope keeps us going. Sometimes hope is all we have left.

If your team makes the playoffs, you soon realize that only one team finishes the season with a win. Maybe your season didn’t end up like you wanted it to. It’s OK.

I watched from a distance as probably the best volleyball team in MHS history lost in the state tournament. Were they disappointed? Sure. Can they look back on all they accomplished and realize that their body of work was incredible? I hope so.

I would definitely be considered “old school,” if for no other reason than the number of candles on my birthday cake. I remember a lot of cliches from back in the day. “2^nd place is 1^st loser.” Another one that had broad acceptance: “Winners win, losers lose.”

To me, phrases like those reduce sports to a totally irrelevant role. In other words, the life lessons that can be learned from sports participation are worth nothing with that mindset.

If you read my column often enough, you know that I do not agree with that at all. Sports participation is valuable, even essential. Life lessons are there to be learned regardless of the score of any game.

Let’s look at that for a moment. The opportunities to learn from playing a game or being on a team are everywhere. The opportunity to learn how to be a good teammate. How to be a leader. How to work toward a goal.

And what it takes to be successful. Is the scoreboard important? Sure it is. It gives our games structure and focus. The scoreboard gives us a goal to work toward. But is the scoreboard an appropriate measuring stick for our success? No, not at all.

I had a discussion with a grandchild recently. This one asked “do you think I will be a success when I’m an adult?” Of course! “Do you think I’ll own a Lamborghini?”

Oh my. Success has nothing to do with material goods. Are you happy? Are you in a good relationship? Is your day filled with opportunities to be of service to others? Does your life have meaning?

Those are the things that you should use to judge a successful life. Not how big your house is or what car you drive.

Same with sports. Are you learning those lessons? Are you enjoying the challenges that keeping score in a game provides you?

Our success comes from working hard and learning the value of hard work. It comes from being our best selves. If you work hard, prepare well, give it your all, and still come out on the short end of the scoreboard, you are still successful. You are still a winner, regardless of the score.

Hope never dies…unless you let it.