Zen and the Art of Tennis

I have an adult piano student who, on more than one occasion, has commented on how painful it must be listening to her struggle through a piece. I assure her I don't mind and it's just part of teaching.

BUT, I feel the same way in my weekly tennis clinic with an instructor who has coached collegiate teams and toured with Andy Roddick on the U.S. men's tennis team. As I hack away at yet another fuzzy ball I'm thinking to myself, "This has to be so painful for Coach!" Did I mention one of my serves ended up in his swimming pool today? Yeah...that's what I said...PAINFUL!

Coach gently reminds me to "loosen up on the grip," as I tend to approach the game white-knuckled. My death grip gets me nowhere on the court...absolutely nowhere. And whenever I hear his words, I'm reminded how I tend to maneuver through life with a white-knuckled approach, squeezing out most semblance of flow or ease. That's my nature and it's a constant challenge to loosen up...lighten up...ease up on the grip.

What I've learned is that tennis requires mindfulness (of too many details, if you ask me) and meditation on those skills leads to enlightenment, hopefully in the form of a fabolicious serve!

And with that, a parallel to life...to stay mindful and in the present, focusing on what's here and now and within our control. Not the ghost of yesterday, nor the phantom of tomorrow.

How's your grip? Need to loosen up a little???