I’ve been pondering about certain words. It’s been a necessary activity to save my sanity. Well, my bowling sanity.
Firstly, to put it in perspective – the word GALA. A bowling gala is considered to be fun and relaxed. So, for me Gala – lala lala lala – fun, relaxed etc. Then tournament – tour-mented, tourtuous, tourn-apart etc. Get my drift – lala is fun. Tourtuous is serious.
So, (just hang in there. I’m getting to the point of all this), the word that has been pinging around in my head is CONSIDERATION. Consider…think of all aspects. Ration…rationalise – think it all through and come up with a rational thought which is usually somewhere in the middle of everything.
How does this apply to bowls? Okay – the scenario is a tournament. For me, this is serious bowls. I’m playing for the family farm. I don’t seem to be able to play any other way so I try to always give it my best.
Some months ago I played in a tournament and on the rink next to me was someone who was apparently playing in a gala – lalalalalalalala. This person laughed, joked with the marker, asked for the situation loudly before every bowl and could be heard all over the rink. My tournament-brain battled all day to switch off the gala going on next to me. I clenched my teeth, my eyes and whatever else could be clenched, took a breath, took my line and took my shot. For me it was a very stressful day. I managed to make runner-up but I really struggled with the day.
Jump forward to recently. Another tournament. When I arrived the first person I noticed was this person who enjoys bowling in a gala-frame of mind. My heart sank and I said a little prayer to the bowling gods. Did they listen? No. Did they wait until our last game? Yes? Did they laugh hysterically as they lapsed into a Gala-lalala mentality? Of course they did? Is there a lesson to be learned here? You betcha! Did tourtuous fit into the picture? Yep! Did I throw my bowls out of the cot? I wanted to but instead I had a talk with myself…after a miserable defeat.
Consider/ration –( stop fussing about the two r’s!) Someone else who had played with this person made the comment that they had jokingly mentioned wearing earmuffs if the noise became too much on the rink. It was all light-hearted and jovial but the point was made.
So, I really need to learn to relax. I’ve had enough hypnotherapy and NLP training to sort this out for myself and I should have made the effort. Consideration is a two-way street. Every team, in a perfect world, would agree with this. If I was irrational – well, we won’t go there because bowling balls are not weapons of mass destruction. But rational – either ask politely if the gala-lalala could be toned down – or wear ear muffs. (Hubby probably enjoys his bowls far more than I do because he is another gala-lalala player.)
