Babe in The Words

Whenever I’m feeling worried or confused, I look for answers from the world’s great philosophers: Plato, Aristotle, Rumi…Babe Ruth.

Wait, what? What’s the Bambino doing here?

Let me explain.

As I’ve mentioned many times, I am no kind of a sports fan. I’m aware that baseball season is underway, but only because I hear this information on the news.

However, I must admit there is a great deal of drama in sports--from the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat, as the old TV show used to say.

As Robert DeNiro’s Al Capone said about America’s pastime in 1987’s The Untouchables, “a man stands alone at the plate. This is time for what? For individual achievement.”

Of course, he beats a guy to death with a baseball bat a few moments later, but let’s not dwell on the negative.

Babe Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in America culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time.

My interest in him stems from my cable station’s new age cable station, which plays calm, relaxing music with images of natural and encouraging quotes.

I have to say I was rather surprised when I saw Babe Ruth’s name flash across the screen under the words: “Never let the fear of striking keep you from playing the game.” I can see that fear has been such a controlling factor in some many of my decisions and actions—or, more accurately, my inactions. I was focused on striking out rather hitting a home run.

Batter Up!

Plato said that “Courage is not knowing what to fear.” Aristotle said is “Fear is pain rising from the anticipation of evil,” while Rumi advised us to “Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.”

These are all wonderful ideas, but let’s give the Sultan of Swat his due.

I wanted to know what else Babe Ruth had to say for himself, so I hopped over to Google to see what I could find. Here are some examples:

“You just can't beat the person who never gives up.” This is very inspiring.

“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” So, instead of focusing on what went wrong, like I always am, turn you attention to succeeding.

“Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.” Don’t rest of your laurels.

“Who is richer? The man who is seen, but cannot see? Or the man who is not being seen, but can see?” I think this is quite meaningful in our celebrity-obsessed culture.

Of course, not all the Bambino’s quotes are grand slams. Take this one for example:

“Reading isn’t good for a ballplayer. Not good for his eyes. If my eyes went bad even a little bit, I couldn’t hit home runs. So, I gave up reading.”

Yeah, I don’t expect to see that one popping up on the new age music channel any time soon, but I’ve plenty of other great ideas to focus on.

Today is Easter, a time of renewal and rebirth. I had an excellent dinner with my family and looking forward to longer days and warmer weather.

I won’t be watching any baseball games, but I’ll be keeping Babe Ruth’s words in mind.