Playing
Together

You know,

when humans play together they enjoy it,

and that is because

it makes them feel better about themselves.

Even those who aren't the best in the team

can feel they have done their best when taking part.

Sport is about so much more than winners and losers.

It is about doing your best.

And there is always going to be someone better than you,

someone stronger, or faster, or taller than you

and of everyone in the world there can only ever be one best.

But the rest can't all be seen as failures.

All they can do is their personal best,

almost always knowing that somewhere out there

is someone whose personal best is better.

Competition is a way of measuring yourself against others,

and often being up against someone who is better than you

can make you realise that you can do a little bit better yourself.

Even a personal best.

People measure themselves against each other

in terms of strength or speed or stamina,

judging how to balance between the three

to do the best you can achieve,

whether it is 100 metres or 10,000,

giving the maximum that you can give,

so when you finish there is nothing left.

Or instead of distance

the effort might be spread out over time,

like the 90 minutes of a football match.

They need to have the self-control to spread their effort over time and distance.

And aim for a personal best.

So some competitions are trials of strength,

from weight lifting to shot putting,

tossing the caber and the hammer throw,

and team sports can pit strength against strength,

from tug-of-war to games of rugby.

And in their extreme, these trials of strength

become the martial arts,

some of which need those who play that way

to be prepared to feel a lot of pain

and keep on going.

But to push for a personal best will always need a certain amount of pain,

as it is that little bit of pain that makes your muscle grow a little bit stronger.

And out of hardship comes ease, says the Qur'an,

and it is so important to understand that it repeats it,

out of hardship comes ease.

But sports aren't all about muscles.

In a competition there's usually some strategy involved,

some planning for the next best move.

There's a need for constant attention to an opponent,

trying to work out their strategy against you,

their strengths and their weaknesses.

And this can be in a team sport, like football

or hockey or hurling,

but strategy can also be practised head to head,

with no great physical effort,

in board games and computer games.

And no matter how much you plan,

your every move depends on the move of your opponent.

Training for a life where every moment is prepared for you by God,

to see what decision you make next

the final judge as to whether we were doing our best.