The Red Sox just won the 2018 World Series, which is often referred to as the “Fall Classic”. I am very happy for the record-breaking Red Sox, but I will refrain from calling this version of the World Series a classic. Boston was clearly the superior team entering the series and Los Angeles was unable to overcome that superiority save the dramatic eighteen-inning sole win by the Dodgers. And to be fair, Boston’s game four come-from-behind win also provided some drama. Other than that, it was a case of a 108-game winner taking care of business against an inferior opponent. The history-making season for the Sox was far more classic than the championship series itself. And now the world has a new baseball champion, the Boston Red Sox, who replaced last year’s winner, the Houston Astros.
Fall, of course, is a new season and a time for much change. The weather changes, the colors of nature are altered, leaves fall from the trees, foliage dies or goes dormant, animals prepare for the coming change of lifestyle, businesses hustle to have a successful year-end and begin to plan for the next year, children and adults go back to school, wedding season slows, the stock market goes through traditional seasonal trends and sports seasons transition. We know it is coming and yet are not always prepared and therefore don’t always choose what occurs in the new seasons that we experience. Sometimes those encounters are difficult and don’t always end with obvious success. The Dodgers played hard and wanted desperately to play in and win the World Series but were soundly defeated by the Red Sox. While that was taking place, the players and staff members from the twenty-eight other Major League teams were hunting, fishing, playing golf and vacationing with friends and family members. If you were a Dodger, you might agree that those not in the finals had a pretty good thing going. Yet, I doubt any of them would respond that way.
And, I doubt the frequent champions will rest their bruises for long. They will likely evaluate where and how that they need to improve, spend money, make trades and change other things in their organization so that next year’s Fall Classic will belong to them. The 2018 Red Sox are arguably the finest Red Sox team ever. It will be a challenge to repeat the season that they just completed. After going many decades without a World Series title, they have become a threat to win almost every year. To get to this lofty status they had to make changes in many areas and invest wisely. It wasn’t without great thought and effort that they have become so successful and they won’t likely “take their foot off the gas” anytime soon.
Isn’t life like that? Seasons come and go and sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Often, we are prepared for and intentional about moving into a new season and occasionally we are taken by surprise and forced to move. There are times when we choose a new season verses remain in the same one in which we are currently residing. For example, I am at an age where I am beginning to contemplate working less and playing more. What a novel concept! Since I was a small boy growing up on a dairy farm I have worked. I won’t divulge how many years that has spanned but suffice to say it has been a good long stretch. I have chosen to begin working less on weekends and have adjusted to time zones so that I can take an occasional afternoon to go for a bike ride or hike before dark. I even choose to play the 4-letter-word-game and torture myself a bit by chasing around that tiny and elusive ball for 9 to 18 holes. Had I been able to maintain a prior life path I may have already reduced the amount of time that I spend working. As a result, this is my current season of life. In what season is your life? Did you plan for it or did it happen unexpectedly? Are you where you want to be, or do you need to adjust or perhaps recover to maximize your contentment and quality of life? Do you consider your current season a classic? What value and learnings are you finding? Is there hope in where it is taking you? Oh yes, make no mistake, life does take us places unexpectedly sometimes! With all our planning, sometimes we end up on the other side of the river without a paddle and need to find a new route or mode of transportation to get back to where we want to be.
Imagine what it was like for early settlers of this vast land. They had only a few rivers (some which flow north), perhaps some hand-me-down information from a prior pioneer, the sun and their own instincts to guide them. When your plans get turned upside down and you have about as much to guide you as those early adventurers how do you respond? Regardless of whether you chose your current season or were cast into it against your will, you still have a choice to make. You can become a perennial cellar dweller as some Major League baseball teams seem to be or you can evaluate, strategize, organize, plan, invest and execute with optimism so that your next season has a fighting chance to become a classic.