Relative Something

I am of the opinion that anticipation of an event is more exciting than the event itself, even as that conflicts with the lofty objective of practicing living in the moment. More than anywhere else, for me, that is the case with spectator sports. One of the reasons I enjoy football most, out of all the sports I watch, is that the games happen once a week and there is all that time in between for anticipation to build. When games are so plentiful that they happen night after night, like baseball, or many times a week like basketball and hockey, not only is there not much time to build anticipation, but win or lose, there will be another game in a day or two, so each individual outcome ends up appearing to have less importance.

I remember, not all that long ago now, a time when I first recognized that even the game itself, as it was happening, was failing to live up to the excitement I felt in anticipation prior to the start. This phenomenon becomes most vivid if the game of the moment ends up being a dud; either not living up to expectations, or just becoming entirely lopsided – usually in the direction against the team of my affection. But I’ve even sensed it during a game that was going well. It exposes, in a dramatic example, my shortcomings regarding living in the moment, as I already sense that the prior excitement is over, once the game gets underway. There is a bit of a let down when what I’ve been looking forward to finally arrives and it is already slipping away as the minutes run. My mind has neglected to pause and enjoy, and is already jumping ahead to the hours in the future, when the game I’ve been waiting for all week, is done and gone.

If you consider the way movies and television programs are advertised, you will recognize that the marketing is geared perfectly for someone in this mindset. It has become quite common to begin advertising big movies months, and sometimes even years, prior to their release. Once the movie arrives, ads almost disappear as the attention is quickly shifted to the next big release down the line. Television networks do the same thing, saturating their broadcasts with ads for programs or sporting events they will show in the future. Then when the big moment arrives, right in the middle of the feature event, there will be new ads for some different future event. Even though this game or show isn’t even over yet, the attention is already being directed to some other target for us to build our anticipation toward. I’m a sucker for it.

Given this insight, I’m trying to imagine myself right now as having thoroughly anticipated this very moment and not some other future moment that hasn’t arrived yet, and then seeking all the joy and satisfaction I can harvest from this moment, as it happens. Even if the moment ends up being a dud.