Today's fortune: You will find your horizons suddenly broadened.
My friends at work are getting sick of me. I lean on them heavily for the sake of this blog, and I've learned a lot from them. I've also been able to get to know them better than I ever could have without asking such questions as "What's your most memorable dream?", "Do you have any deep, dark secrets to share?" and "Do you need any advice today?"
The best way to broaden your horizons, though, is to soak up the knowledge of the people close to you. Today, two friends helped me do just that.
In yesterday's post, one friend told me about a memorable dream where he envisioned playing basketball in heaven. Basketball is one thing I don't enjoy or appreciate at all. I may have even written that they only play basketball in hell, but I don't really remember. I like the idea of basketball, and all team sports for that matter. But I just find the game boring, and I don't really know what's going on.
So I asked my friend what he could teach me about basketball that would make me appreciate the game more.
"You like baseball, right?" he asked.
"Of course," I said. "I love it."
"What do you love about baseball?"
That was a hard question, because the answer is intertwined with the history of my entire life. So I kept it simple. "Well, I guess I love the strategy behind it, the little games within the larger game."
"Okay. In basketball, do you know the difference between zone defense and man-to-man defense?" he asked.
"Yeah," I replied. "In man-to-man defense, each player guards another player, regardless of where he goes on the floor. In zone defense, a player guards a certain territory, regardless of which players cross through that territory."
"That's about right," he said. "If a team is playing zone defense, the offense will usually try to attack in between two defenders, drawing two players to one spot on the court. That means one person on offense will be un-covered, and he'll have an open shot."
That made some sense, and I could picture it in my head. He kept going.
"Some sports are team-oriented, like soccer. And some sports are all about you against another person, like boxing. Basketball has aspects of both. If a single player is good enough, they can take over the game by themselves. But there are five guys on the court, so it can also be very team-oriented."
That made a lot of sense. I can relate that to baseball, too. One swing of the bat or one pitch can change the game.
I decided to bone up on basketball by watching YouTube clips of the very best player of all time.
I admit, it's pretty easy to appreciate Jordan. I'm going to try to watch more basketball and appreciate the lesser mortals who play the game.
Another friend shared a hidden passion with me: a love for Bollywood films. I was surprised by this. The only time I ever seen Bollywood movies is when they're playing on the TVs at Indian restaurants.
My friend told me that almost all Bollywood movies are musicals, and they're almost all love stories. But the love stories are much different, much more complex and beautiful, than Hollywood romances.
I asked her for the name of her favorite Bollywood movie. She said it's a film called Ghajini. I did some research and discovered that it's actually a remake of the fascinating American film Memento. The title character of Ghajini is a killer with a damaged memory. He carries around Polaroids and tattoos his body with notes to help him remember things, just like in Memento.
But in the Bollywood version, there's singing and a love story, too. My friend told me a little bit about it. I won't ruin it for you, because judging from this preview, you should watch it yourself.
Basketball and Bollywood seem like a good start for a horizon expansion.
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