Heartstopper

Does it matter where or how people get their thrills? Are some thrills more acceptable than others? Are thrills even important? Is it okay to live for the buzz, to chase the thrills? Or is it better to just enjoy them when they come along? Are thrills the reason for our existence, or do they just exist for a reason? Am I going to stop asking questions and provide some answers? Which is more important: questions or answers?

Last night, I travelled into the Big Smoke, with some family members, to attend a rugby league match. Played at Allianz Stadium which is probably the best rugby league stadium in New South Wales, the game was a sudden death semi final featuring my team, the Canterbury Bulldogs.

I'm pretty passionate about the Bulldogs. I've been seriously following them for about 36 years. My dad is a bulldogs fan, and so is my son, and my daughter, though she's not quite a 'mental' as us boys. Whether it is on TV or live at the ground, I yell and talk a lot when I watch the Bulldogs play. I can become pretty emotionally disturbed. In close, tense games, my mouth goes dry and I have heart palpitations. I become totally lost in the contest as though my life depended on the result of the game. A loss can flatten me, a win can make me float for days. This is one of my great thrills: watching my team play and cheering for them. I love it.

The result of the sudden death semi final was decided in extra time when the scores were locked 17-17 at full time. I felt that the second half totally belonged to the opposition and as they came back from a 0-16 deficit, I believed they would run over us and win the game. The crowd of nearly 30 000 was going insane, the noise in the stadium was deafening, as both teams ripped into each other in the desperate battle to win the game, and the right to progress through to the next game. It was so enthralling, I'm sure I must have stopped breathing on several occasions.

When full time sounded and the teams took a quick on field drinks break before commencing sudden death extra time-what we call Golden Point- I sat there beaming. I realized that even if the Bulldogs lost, I would still always treasure that night. The thrill of the contest. The heart stopping excitement. The nail biting tension. It was so much fun. I'm so glad I was there. I'm smiling now as I think of it.

Oh, you may be wondering about the result. Four minutes into the first period of extra time, Bulldogs half back, Trent Hodkinson, kicked the winning field goal. Final score? Bulldogs 18, Eagles 17.

As for the philosophy of thrills...who cares? I'm just glad we won and I had a great night. Go the Bulldogs!! How do you get your thrills?

Does Your Chewing Gum Lose its Flavour on the Bedpost Overnight?

The other day I was feverishly working at opening a packet of Juicy Fruit chewing gum. But just as I succeeded at one end, the other end of the packet opened by itself and a couple of pellets of gum were deposited on the floor of my van.

In a blinding flash of revelation, I was struck by an epiphany.Chewing gum became my sagacious teacher, a wellspring of wisdom.

Life lesson #1: Sometimes success can come in unforeseen ways. Life lesson #2: Sometimes we can be very zealously attacking a particular task but going about it the wrong way, wasting time and energy in the process.

I popped two pellets of gum in my mouth in eager anticipation of the burst of freshness they would provide and I was not disappointed. It was so good while it lasted, but it didn't last long. After a few minutes, I was chewing a tasteless piece of rubber. Life lesson #3: People are always looking for a burst of excitement in their lives, a buzz, something new and invigorating. We long for mountain top experiences, emotional highs which enable us to enjoy life and suffer the mundane. Many things can deliver this freshness into our lives but no matter where these thrills come from, they don't last.

We have all experienced the flat feeling when some event we had been looking forward to for ages is over. In life when the fun is over, the work begins, but I reckon work should be fun and fulfilling as well. Perhaps the reason it is not, is because we expect too much and live for the weekend instead of gratefully accepting and wisely using each day as it comes.

Juicy Fruit freshness will come into our lives periodically, but the gum will soon transform into tough insipid rubber. Good times come and good times go. We should not depend on the highs to get us through the lows, we should depend on Jesus Christ who does not just offer to help us survive the ups and downs, but promises to give us abundant life. Guaranteed.