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BACK ON MONDAY - HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND Lou Gehrig: The luckiest man on the face of the earth I am not a fan of oldies when it comes to movies, or music really, but I have recently read a quote by Lou Gehrig, so I read up on him and this lead to me searching for and watching the movie about his life. The 1942 movie The Pride of the Yankees. Although baseball is not a biggy in South Africa, I must say this was an inspiring movie so I decided to dedicate today’s Daily Thought to this baseball superstar who entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. Lou Gehrig with the byname the Iron Horse, was one of the most durable players in American professional baseball and one of its great hitters. From June 1, 1925, to May 2, 1939, Gehrig, playing first base for the New York Yankees, appeared in a staggering 2,130 consecutive games. He was known to be a quiet, gentle man. Sadly, in 1939, Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS in short. Later this disease has come to be known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. In the film, on July 4, 1939, a Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day was held in his honour and it was at this event that Gehrig made the memorable speech featured in the film version of his life. He said, “I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” Interestingly, his wife Eleanor later said the real speech was so moving that journalists were distracted from recording it word for word; today’s accepted version was pieced together from various news accounts. Gehrig, “the luckiest man on the face of the earth” was a dependable ballplayer who was great at hitting a baseball, and that could have made him feel self- important, but instead, the opposite was true. Gehrig realised that if it weren’t for the team and the baseball fans, he wouldn’t be able to play the game he loved so much. A friend told me yesterday in a voice message that life is not always fair and we do not always get what we deserve. As I write this Daily Thought I am busy with preparation for a CT-Colonography because I’ve been having medical issues lately. I can see this as a tough break or just another curveball I must deal with. Back to Lou’s speech. His speech that day in 1939 was more than a speech, it was a statement of resilience. His words were inspiring not because he played an unexpected card by announcing his resignation from professional baseball, but because he decided to see his reality as something more than just a diagnosis. We can learn so much from that. External events that we can’t control always occur. That is what life is about. Paulo Coelho said, “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” When life happens and things don’t go much like we planned it to, it does not mean that the universe and the laws of nature don’t concern themselves with what each one of us wants or thinks or cares about. It doesn’t mean that they conspire against us. It just means that they’re indifferent. These things do not happen because God placed you on the “naughty list”, it is just life happening. We must realise that if it wasn’t for our own support networks, we wouldn’t be the people we are today either. Family, friends, mentors, managers, supervisors, co-workers, and even strangers, may all be supporters of what we do. Sometimes it’s a good thing to take a step back, recognize their contributions, and make an active effort to thank them for that help. This is one of the lessons from Lou Gehrig’s life. Lou Gehrig’s final words in that speech were, “So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.” What a bold statement from the “Iron Horse”. He was resigning from the game, but definitely not from life. These words underlined his passion also for life and his determination to keep on fighting this disease. Did you have a tough break in life and are things maybe not going as you imagined it to, well then take inspiration from the lessons from the life of Baseball Hall of Fame superstar and gentle man, Lou Gehrig.

Verse of the day

May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. Psalm 20:4

Quote of the day

You don t get the breaks unless you play with the team instead of against it.

Lou Gehrig

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BACK ON MONDAY - HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND Lou Gehrig: The luckiest man on the face of the earth I am not a fan of oldies when it comes to movies, or music really, but I have recently read a quote by Lou Gehrig, so I read up on him and this lead to me searching for and watching the movie about his life. The 1942 movie The Pride of the Yankees. Although baseball is not a biggy in South Africa, I must say this was an inspiring movie so I decided to dedicate today’s Daily Thought to this baseball superstar who entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. Lou Gehrig with the byname the Iron Horse, was one of the most durable players in American professional baseball and one of its great hitters. From June 1, 1925, to May 2, 1939, Gehrig, playing first base for the New York Yankees, appeared in a staggering 2,130 consecutive games. He was known to be a quiet, gentle man. Sadly, in 1939, Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS in short. Later this disease has come to be known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. In the film, on July 4, 1939, a Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day was held in his honour and it was at this event that Gehrig made the memorable speech featured in the film version of his life. He said, “I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” Interestingly, his wife Eleanor later said the real speech was so moving that journalists were distracted from recording it word for word; today’s accepted version was pieced together from various news accounts. Gehrig, “the luckiest man on the face of the earth” was a dependable ballplayer who was great at hitting a baseball, and that could have made him feel self-important, but instead, the opposite was true. Gehrig realised that if it weren’t for the team and the baseball fans, he wouldn’t be able to play the game he loved so much. A friend told me yesterday in a voice message that life is not always fair and we do not always get what we deserve. As I write this Daily Thought I am busy with preparation for a CT- Colonography because I’ve been having medical issues lately. I can see this as a tough break or just another curveball I must deal with. Back to Lou’s speech. His speech that day in 1939 was more than a speech, it was a statement of resilience. His words were inspiring not because he played an unexpected card by announcing his resignation from professional baseball, but because he decided to see his reality as something more than just a diagnosis. We can learn so much from that. External events that we can’t control always occur. That is what life is about. Paulo Coelho said, “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” When life happens and things don’t go much like we planned it to, it does not mean that the universe and the laws of nature don’t concern themselves with what each one of us wants or thinks or cares about. It doesn’t mean that they conspire against us. It just means that they’re indifferent. These things do not happen because God placed you on the “naughty list”, it is just life happening. We must realise that if it wasn’t for our own support networks, we wouldn’t be the people we are today either. Family, friends, mentors, managers, supervisors, co-workers, and even strangers, may all be supporters of what we do. Sometimes it’s a good thing to take a step back, recognize their contributions, and make an active effort to thank them for that help. This is one of the lessons from Lou Gehrig’s life. Lou Gehrig’s final words in that speech were, “So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.” What a bold statement from the “Iron Horse”. He was resigning from the game, but definitely not from life. These words underlined his passion also for life and his determination to keep on fighting this disease. Did you have a tough break in life and are things maybe not going as you imagined it to, well then take inspiration from the lessons from the life of Baseball Hall of Fame superstar and gentle man, Lou Gehrig.