Here we are, the end of 2020. Most of us are ready to move on into the coming year excited about change and the creation of possibilities not disabilities. To help in that effort, I have written and published my next book, THE COMPETITIVE BUDDHA, due in late May of 2021. I promise you that the issues we had to confront during COVID are addressed within...impermanence, detachment, courage, faith, hope, integrity, selflessness and others, all related to sports and life. It serves you as a tool kit for navigating these unchartered waters during a pandemic and offers a spiritual path to guide all of us to being the best version of ourselves and up our game in life. here is amnestying excerpt from the introduction:
This book is not just for those in athletics but for anyone interested in the potential of the human spirit. I simply use the arena of athletics as a vehicle to explore leadership and masterful performance in sports and all arenas of life. In his classic tome, Golf in the Kingdom, Michael Murphy talks about developing “astronauts of inner space” who break through to levels of awareness not yet explored by the human race. I hope to scratch the surface of this concept and help all of us be such explorers.
My book is not an impeccable masterpiece on Buddhist thought. Writing this book was a daunting task. I was overwhelmed at times because there is so much to comprehend, so much to know. So, I decided to stick to basic simple truths that I can get my head wrapped around. I don’t claim to know much but what I do know, I will share with you as I have with many others over a 40-year career in athletics.
Here is my attempt to bring well-chosen and selective laws, principles, and strategies of the Buddha into the world of sports to help heighten the joy and happiness while reducing the suffering in our lives. Sport is one of the few activities in life that addresses the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of full capacity living, making it an invaluable vehicle for such growth. I’m a life-long student of philosophy, psychology and sport.
I’m humbly aware that I am no scholar. I’m a thoughtful, observant jock with a deep spiritual connection helping me to master my craft. I’m not a Zen Buddhist but I practice each day how to be a better version of myself by attending to the teachings of the Buddha. I am the hole in a flute through which comes the breath of those brilliant Buddhist minds, from me to you.
I’ve been at it for most of my life and after 40 years of coaching, teaching, writing, performing, I am only half way there. I am a spiritual seeker, a spiritual wanderer and wonderer looking for and discovering ways that appear to make sense, especially in the world of sports where I’ve been attached at the hip since I discovered a ball at the age of five. I’m trying to figure it out. Sports has been an awesome venue to ask the bigger, deeper questions. Everything I am today has been heavily influenced by sport and my years as a competitive athlete, coach and teacher.
Have a very joyful, peaceful, loving and connective new year. See you at the beginning as I continue to use this avenue to make a difference in the lives of all who read within.
Much Love and chi,
Jerry
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