Our thoughts create our feelings. When our thoughts are negative we can feel lousy, even in paradise. Although it’s possible to control our thoughts, to shift them to create the feelings we want, it’s not always easy…
Maui has nearly 155,000 people and four USTA 4.5, 40+ teams. On this visit I was I was invited to join one of them, We Lob You Maui. Our first match was scheduled in the evening in Wailuku town, at the base of the West Maui mountains. The courts were wet when we arrived and a warm wind dried them before our eyes.
My partner Cynthia and I got off to a solid start, taking the first set 6-2. The second set started out great with us quickly getting to 3-0. Our opponents did a little victory dance when they got their first game. After that they seemed to relax, while we made a few more errors. At 4-3 deuce, sprinkling began and quickly became a downpour. Cynthia and I ran off the court, under her black umbrella that had provided us shelter from the sun earlier in the week.
While I appeared calm on the outside, my mind was in a tirade, “Clearly we let them back in. We should have won that match long before the rain started. Now I’ll have to go back and finish this match some other evening!” I was angry at myself and the situation. That night I lay awake reviewing lost points and missed volleys. I finally got some relief at a yoga class the next morning, when I lightened up and laughed at myself for thinking I could control existence.
The completion of our match was scheduled for two days later, but when the time came, it was once again raining in Wailuku. The weather was fine where I was staying, and my partner and I proposed we play there, but our opponents refused. Suddenly I was annoyed all over again, thinking “This is my vacation! Why did I bring my home life (tennis) into this time-off?”
In the nine days before we finally completed the match, I consciously imbibed the Maui vibe of going with the flow. I reframed my thoughts to appreciate what each day brings, rather than what I think it should bring. We ended up winning the match, playing only eight additional points. My opponents were so gracious, even though they’d lost, that I had to reconsider my previous frustration. I now think I was lucky to experience a taste of USTA tennis on Maui and feel grateful I had this opportunity.