They
say that being thankful is, in itself, a reward. I, like many Americans do this time of year,
find myself reflecting on what I should be thankful for. Notice how I say, “Should be” rather than
“am”. That’s because I am human and we
don’t always recognize things for what they are. So, with that said, instead of recapping
World Cup as I was hoping to do, I am thankful that I don’t have to relive the
2nd place finish on Paintball’s biggest stage. Instead, I want to talk about something
completely different and, for the most part, totally off topic from what you
have come to expect in this blog.
Second place feels like second
place….
Let’s
face it, with all of the animosity and dreariness in this world, it is a
welcome reprieve to think about the good in one’s life. I personally have several things to be
thankful for. I am alive and well and
live in, despite all recent attempts to change it, the greatest country known
to man. I have, for the most part,
enjoyed good health, am fascinated by the advancement of technology and am
really digging a lot of the musical artists these days.
I like
to do that. I like to think about what I
am and should be thankful for in categories: Family, faith, job… that sort of
thing. For example, in regards to
Family, I am thankful for my wife because of the person she is, for the example
she shows me, for the home she has made for us, for the devout
Christian/Catholic she is, for the children she has given me and the support
and belief she has in me. You get the
picture.
I am
also thankful for my “other” families.
My paintball family and my Prime family.
See, my paintball family is separate from my Prime family. My paintball family is all of you who help
and try to make this sport great. Those
of you who get up every day and think of ways to better this sport. Some of you do it by getting involved with
reffing or event promotion. Some of you
even run a paintball field or paintball companies. And some of you just make it great by being
you and bringing your personality to the sport.
You are the ambassadors and I am thankful you are out there doing what
you do. To those of you who approach it
with the attitude that paintball is, indeed, a fantastic sport, I salute you
and wish you all the best during this Thanksgiving season.
Now, my
Prime family…they are a motley crew. I
am going to try and use an analogy here that some of you will get, some won’t…
and that’s okay.
Totally
motley
See…
Prime is America.
That’s
right, I said America. (Cue patriotic
music) My Prime family is a melting pot of diversity. We have different religions and beliefs
represented and all respected amongst each other. We have southerners, northerners, westerners
and easterners. We have tall, short,
fast, slow, smart, not so smart, ignorant, informed, pretty and ugly. And each and every one of us, when we are
at practice, an event or just out on the town together, are a country. We will pass laws and those laws are
enforced. We will declare war as a
nation and yes, we will bring nukes if we feel it is necessary. Now, we can disagree and have different views
on several matters but we always come together as a team, as one. If you have a problem with a member of one of
the states of Prime, you have a problem with the United States of Prime. And like America, we will lay a whoopin’ on
your @$$ faster than a hornet with 'roid rage.
So, I
want every member of Prime to know, past or present, that I am thankful for
you.
Find
what you are thankful for. Why? In the book titled THE PSYCHOLOGY OF
GRATITUDE, the authors found that being thankful led to positive psychological,
physical, and social outcomes; That it automatically lifts your mood and helps
release stress and anxiety; it generates optimism and hope, helps you focus on
the good things in your life, rather than what's not going well; makes you feel
good about yourself and your life and promotes living in the moment and
increases feelings of peace and contentment.
Huh…doesn’t sound like a paintball team to me… but I guess it could
be.
Happy
Thanksgiving everyone.
Michael
Bianca
Team
Pr1me
