Be a Passionate Spectator

By Steve Gwisdalla

Hello Tribe of Up! Here in our happy little (but growing) tribe, we advocate for more joy every chance we get. We pay kindness forward and we seek to find those moments that allow us to pause and appreciate wonder around us.

Those moments mentioned above have become crucial for me as I journey through the second half of my life. During the first half, I always hurried up to get to the destination without paying any attention to the journey. Now, the destination is almost secondary to all the wonderful experiences being had during the journey.

Before, I had a pre-determined expectation of how I wanted that destination to be. Anything that altered the reality from my perception, often ruined the destination. Now, the only expectation I have is experiencing the now. Every moment of the journey and every moment at the destination are taken in by this passionate spectator.

If you were to meet me, many of you who see me out and about stop and say hi. Believe me when I say, I genuinely love meeting you all. For you to take time out of your day to have a conversation with me is quite humbling. I try my best to be engaging, get to know those who stop to chat, and try to leave them with a smile, gratitude, and warmth. But those precious few who really know me would tell you that I am a terrible introvert. Perhaps it is because I am an only child and spent much of my youth alone. Perhaps it is all the thought I get lost in. As a closet introvert, I have discovered something that truly brings me enormous joy.

Being a passionate spectator.

I love just observing things going on around me. The world is spinning quite quickly and there isn’t always time for such observations. Whenever possible, time is made to put on my passionate spectator glasses (I am very near-sighted and need those very real glasses to see anything beyond about 10 feet from my face). Even if it is just a few minutes a day, I make it a priority to try and find time to be a passionate spectator. Last night, my son’s soccer team played against Saline. They whomped us pretty good. It was also Saline Soccer Club night at the game and all the young players who play in Saline’s program were there to cheer on the Hornets. Each young person got to go out onto the field with a Saline player when they were introduced. They stood with that player during the National Anthem, and many held the hands of the Saline varsity players. I caught more than a few of these young players looking up (literally) at the player they went out onto the field with, with a clear look of awe on their young faces. Now, my son is the Goalkeeper for Dexter, so I am usually a nervous wreck at these games. By being a passionate spectator and seeing the awe and admiration those young Hornets had for varsity chaperones, I found incredible peace. This is a silly example I know, but If I was in full-on ‘Nervous Dad Mode,’ or NDM. I would’ve missed the awe, the innocence, and the amazing role models those teenagers were for those kiddos. With everything going on in our world these days, isn’t that what life is all about? Being absorbed in NDM, I almost missed it. But all my practice trying to find the moments must be paying off, because I calmed myself and found that moment.

My friends, being a passionate spectator can be something as simple as watching a honeybee pollinating a flower or watching someone in traffic letting someone merge. The world seems decreasingly inclined to want us to find those moments. It wants us angry, divided, and attention span-less. Last night, I was reminded by the opening moments of a high school soccer game. That’ll do. Steve is a Dexter resident and the Owner, Chief Moment Officer, Vice President of Passionate Spectating, and Nervous Soccer Dad at Better Place Consulting, a success, career, and life coaching firm. Reach out to me at [email protected].

Be a Passionate Spectator

By Steve Gwisdalla

Hello Tribe of Up! Here in our happy little (but growing) tribe, we advocate for more joy every chance we get. We pay kindness forward and we seek to find those moments that allow us to pause and appreciate wonder around us.

Those moments mentioned above have become crucial for me as I journey through the second half of my life. During the first half, I always hurried up to get to the destination without paying any attention to the journey. Now, the destination is almost secondary to all the wonderful experiences being had during the journey.

Before, I had a pre-determined expectation of how I wanted that destination to be. Anything that altered the reality from my perception, often ruined the destination. Now, the only expectation I have is experiencing the now. Every moment of the journey and every moment at the destination are taken in by this passionate spectator.

If you were to meet me, many of you who see me out and about stop and say hi. Believe me when I say, I genuinely love meeting you all. For you to take time out of your day to have a conversation with me is quite humbling. I try my best to be engaging, get to know those who stop to chat, and try to leave them with a smile, gratitude, and warmth. But those precious few who really know me would tell you that I am a terrible introvert. Perhaps it is because I am an only child and spent much of my youth alone. Perhaps it is all the thought I get lost in. As a closet introvert, I have discovered something that truly brings me enormous joy.

Being a passionate spectator.

I love just observing things going on around me. The world is spinning quite quickly and there isn’t always time for such observations. Whenever possible, time is made to put on my passionate spectator glasses (I am very near-sighted and need those very real glasses to see anything beyond about 10 feet from my face). Even if it is just a few minutes a day, I make it a priority to try and find time to be a passionate spectator. Last night, my son’s soccer team played against Saline. They whomped us pretty good. It was also Saline Soccer Club night at the game and all the young players who play in Saline’s program were there to cheer on the Hornets. Each young person got to go out onto the field with a Saline player when they were introduced. They stood with that player during the National Anthem, and many held the hands of the Saline varsity players. I caught more than a few of these young players looking up (literally) at the player they went out onto the field with, with a clear look of awe on their young faces. Now, my son is the Goalkeeper for Dexter, so I am usually a nervous wreck at these games. By being a passionate spectator and seeing the awe and admiration those young Hornets had for varsity chaperones, I found incredible peace. This is a silly example I know, but If I was in full-on ‘Nervous Dad Mode,’ or NDM. I would’ve missed the awe, the innocence, and the amazing role models those teenagers were for those kiddos. With everything going on in our world these days, isn’t that what life is all about? Being absorbed in NDM, I almost missed it. But all my practice trying to find the moments must be paying off, because I calmed myself and found that moment.

My friends, being a passionate spectator can be something as simple as watching a honeybee pollinating a flower or watching someone in traffic letting someone merge. The world seems decreasingly inclined to want us to find those moments. It wants us angry, divided, and attention span-less. Last night, I was reminded by the opening moments of a high school soccer game. That’ll do. Steve is a Dexter resident and the Owner, Chief Moment Officer, Vice President of Passionate Spectating, and Nervous Soccer Dad at Better Place Consulting, a success, career, and life coaching firm. Reach out to me at [email protected].