One of my all time favorite reads is "Open," Andre Agassi's autobiography. I quote the American tennis legend in Sports and Spirituality on a regular basis. Here's the best one: The tennis bag is a lot like your heart – you have to know what’s in it all times.
Practically speaking, I know exactly what is in my heart. Just last week, I made my annual visit to my electrophysiologist. Following an EKG, they ran a diagnostic of my heart health and a routine transmission report from my Abbott device. Reviewing that summary is always a little jarring. It reminds me of the medical technology that makes my heart work effectively. I don't really feel it and although I barely see it, I carry it— two wire leads which remain in normal limits. They are connected an ICD with a battery that has 4.4-5.1 years remaining longevity. Fortunately, there were no abnormal fast heart rates detected over the last monitoring period. A good report.
But Agassi is not speaking of the biological heart. This heart—it too, has size and shape. The spark of life, fount of emotion, house of the soul – the heart lies at the center of every facet of our existence. And yet, I think it's tough to pinpoint what it carries. On any given day, my heart holds hundreds of emotions, desires, feelings, and concerns. Some are heavy, others are confusing. However, when I think of my heart like a tennis bag, I get somewhere. For one, it's never empty. It's usually pretty full. I think of the standing items my heart, like those inside a bag—practical considerations, planning items, understandings, and more.
Agassi writes,
No one but me … can pack the [water] bottles into my bag, along with my clothes and towels and books and shades and wristbands. (My rackets, as always, go in later.) No one but me touches my tennis bag, and when it’s finally packed, it stands by the door, like an assassin’s kit, a sign that the day has lurched that much closer to the witching hour.
“I obsess about my bag. I keep it meticulously organized, and I make no apologies for this anal retentiveness. The bag is my briefcase, suitcase, toolbox, lunchbox, and palette. I need it just right, always. The bag is what I carry onto the court, and what I carry off, two moments when all my senses are extra acute, so I can feel every ounce of its weight. If someone were to slip a pair of argyle socks into my tennis bag, I’d feel it. The tennis bag is a lot like your heart – you have to know what’s in it all times."
How fitting. Be careful with what you pack. You're in charge. If there's something to obsess over, maybe that's it. Keep your heart organized—desire is a powerful force. The heart, like his bag, provides sustenance, nourishment, it carries provisions and allows us to create something new. We bring our heart into the workplace and we take it home. It is worth its weight, even when its heavy. Keep close to it. Take inventory. And hold on tight.
Photo Credits
Inside the bag
Andre
See a former posting related to this topic: What's in your backpack? tennis bag? heart?
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