I won a participation trophy!

A metaphorical one, but a trophy nonetheless.

I wasn’t going to talk about work in this blog. I want to keep that separate from the life I’m building outside of that. But I have to draw on an experience I had yesterday.

In Australia we have a game called Australian rules football. The AFL.

In preparation for the grand final groups of people across the country—whether they be friends, community groups or workplaces—have all sorts of ways to mark the day.

One of the ways our office prepared was through a handball and goal kicking mini-comp.

For handball, we had a proper target: rings of numbers leading to the bullseye, with a flap in the middle. The ball—if struck just right—would sail through the flap.

The kicking comp started simple, with a hula hoop laid on the ground as the goal. The stakes rose when a colleague decided to hold the hoop up in front of him. People lined up to see if they could kick the ball through without inflicting too much damage!

Though I didn’t get the ball through the flap or into the goal I enjoyed trying.

It was so nice to get outside, breathe fresh air, and join in some lighthearted activities. Ones that weren’t as formal as our monthly morning tea; where the idea was just to have fun.

And what made it so much more than activities at lunchtime was that everyone cheered for everyone else’s efforts. We were invested in each other’s outcomes, whether we got close to the goal or not.

What a beautiful thing to witness and be part of.

Photo by Brands&People on Unsplash