Spring season baseball is here in my state as half of the teams of Major League Baseball come to the Phoenix area each spring to play Cactus League exhibition games. I’m a big fan of New York Yankees veteran, Yogi Berra.

There are many funny and downright witty quotes of his, like, “The future ain’t what it used to be,” and, “It gets late early out here.” His phrases have become known as “Yogi-isms.”

One of my favorites is, “It ain’t over ‘till it’s over.” While he was referring to a baseball game, I relate that phrase to the game of life, my life – it ain’t over ‘till it’s over. In other words while I still have breath, there are still possibilities.

We have all heard opposite phrases, like “stuck in a dead end job,” or “nothing will ever change for me,” or “what’s the use of even trying anymore?”. Phrases like these indicate that something is over. But as long as you’re alive, there are still possibilities.

There are some who believe that if you think positively and expect bigger and better things you are just setting yourself up for disappointment. Yes, we all know everyone faces disappointments in life. So why not look for and expect the best for your life, regardless of where you are today?

You Are Where You Are

Today, you and I are where we are; that’s the simplicity of it. Good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, we are just simply where we are in our own lives. But what’s ahead? Do you want to know? Do you want to go and find out?

For most, it’s when life is the most challenging that it seems hardest to regroup and try to move forward to a better situation. Some just get tired of the struggle and end up settling for the way things are. In other words, they give up and decide it’s over.

Erik Weihenmayer became the first blind person to climb Mt Everest. I read that when he was climbing Mt. Everest, just minutes from being on the top of the world, Erik stopped and started to cry. Those tears were freezing on his face, so he had to stop crying for a few more minutes until he was indeed standing on the top of the world!

Far too often we get stuck focusing on where we are instead of where we can be. Looking only at your present situation does not lend itself to finding possibilities for your future. It’s not really about where you are, but rather, where you want to go.

From reading the Bible it is very obvious to me that God is a God of solutions. So, in my life, I look to Him for wisdom, understanding and guidance for my life, because my life is not over! There are plenty of things I want to see and do. I am indeed grateful to God for all He has given me in my life, but, it ain’t over yet.

3 More

Here are three more of my favorite Yogi-isms. Do you have any?

“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”

“Never answer anonymous letters.”

And, in answer to his wife’s question of, “Yogi, you are from St. Louis, we live in New Jersey, and you played ball in New York. If you go before I do, where would you like me to have you buried?” he answered, “Surprise me!”

(Yogi died on September 22, 2015.  He was was interred at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover, New Jersey.)