Playing pool alone is a ritual for me. It is one way I find my zen. I do not follow the rules. I do not care what other people think. When I take my shirt off and grab my stick, it becomes the beginning of a spiritual experience. The point of playing is not to sink the balls. It is to leave myself for myself. To enter into the flow of energy, the rhythm of the music, and to be taken like a leaf on the water. Taken away. I coat my hands with the chalk pillar, and rub my hands together like a Shaman about to practice his craft... I cover my stick with the chalk and set it down... then I rub my hands once more. I think about what it is exactly that I wish to achieve. The intention for that moment. And I focus all of that into a single moment, releasing it as I bring my hands together in a mighty clap. The chalk hits the air, flying out before me, carrying with it my intentions into the Universe. And then I let the moment take hold. When I am balanced... I feel the room, and it is alive. The people walking past me, watching or ignoring me, I sense each one. I am aware. And I avoid them, move around them, exclude them from the moment. This is not about them. I react to each one out of instinct, dodging them as obstacles. And as quickly as I acknowledge they are there, I am already somewhere else. When I am on fire... I zip around the table, constantly moving. It takes me just a second to see what I want. I pick the stick up, hit the cue ball, and sink the ones I am aiming for. They quickly disappear until there is nothing left. And when I am finished, I may play one or two more rounds, repeating the same thing, until all the energy I feel is gone. And I feel the greatest feeling I have ever known. Emptiness. I stand there, next to the table, taking a deep glorious breath and exhaling... the breathing of energy well exerted. Like drinking water when I am really thirsty... the breath tastes so good. And I enjoy that wonderful feeling of bliss for as long as it will last.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 06:21:16 +0000
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