Above The Line Article:
"Go for the Dog"
By Erik Carlson
A 7-year-old girl was playing T-ball. She had never experienced
a real life homerun before and, all of a sudden, she found
herself with that opportunity about to be realized.
She hit the ball farther than she ever had; clear into
the outfield. The crowd was screaming as she rounded first
and headed for second. As she rounded second, she could
see her parents in the bleachers waving their arms for her
to round third and go for the home run. I picture it sort
of a ‘slow-motion’ dream state, like a scene
from a movie where all life seems to focus in on this one
moment.
 As
she approached third base, she got distracted. She noticed,
perched along the fence, a wide-eyed, tail-wagging dog staring
right at her. Now came the moment of truth…would she
make it safely home for the completion of the dream? The
excited little girl rounded third, then froze in her tracks.
The crowd did their best to encourage her to run to home
plate. The girl looked home, then to the crowd, and then
with all the enthusiasm in the world, she went for the dog.
As important as our dreams are, let us not miss out on
the opportunities along the journey that call us to “go
for the dog.” I’m reminded of my days at the
Children’s Hospital in Seattle when I gave one of
my patients a box of baseball cards. The boy told me that
his favorite player was Ken Griffey Jr. At the top of the
box, when he opened it, was a Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie card
that I had placed in there for him.
One month later, I came to work, and my colleagues informed
me that the boy had passed away (he had cancer). I’m
glad I ‘went for the dog’ and took the time
to get him that box of baseball cards. Think about a way
that you can ‘go for the dog’ this month.
Feel free to pass this along, and share any of your stories
with me. I’d love to hear them. I need to hear them.
Thanks for being in the journey with me. I treasure you.
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