A "Hail Mary pass" or "Hail Mary play" in American football refers to any very long forward pass made in desperation with only a small chance of success, especially at or near the end of a half.
Some people get an easy ride in life and fail to realize the worthiness of what they have. Such peole with a cushy job and a flashy life style may not appreciate what they have that others strive and slog for. I am not being judgemental here. I am talking from personal experience. Talking about people with "no gratitude in life" and "no pain, a lot of gain", I am happy for them, but I do not envy them. For starters, why talk about others, try me 10 years back in Boston. I clearly qualified in this category 10 years back. Been there....done that....nothing much to be proud of. I remember throwing "Hail Mary" all the time and it worked all the time!! It is just that I did not know that I was throwing "Hail Mary" as I had been a Happy-Go-Lucky guy. My critics never had the last word, unfortunately. I wish Tom Brady had a success rate like that......Go Patriots!!
But, this good fortune has to stop someday, right? And, when it stops, the world comes crashing down. And the pain?? It is a terrible jolt that will leave a permanent imprint in your mind that will haunt you for ever.
What's next? What do you do now? I guess that is what defines our character and, ultimately, our lives. Yes, you fell down hard. You just get back on your feet and run again. Your body is not fit enough to match the burning sensation of resilience in your mind. You had not upgraded your skills in your Happy-Go-Lucky life for a long time. You took the foot off the gas pedal. But, now, it is time to endure the pain and get used to fear. The transformation process is so amazing and painful.
Perhaps, it is easy to lie to your friends or lie to your family, as you believe that they will forgive you. But, if you lie to yourself, you will never forgive yourself. I guess, this is the most difficult part of the transformation that will haunt you for the rest of your life. And, the transformation costs dearly in both tangible and intangible ways!!
Ultimately, you ignite the transformation process and, hopefully, the evolution of this newly-hard-earned attitude will cease to gyrate only on the day when we depart for the better world. If not, then we still have not learnt our lesson. As the saying goes....perhaps, it is okay to lose, but when you lose don't lose the lesson.
Having worked in different cultures/continents, the other side of the grass is no longer green to me. I know what I want (to a greater extent). Now, having worked in the Middle East for sometime, I am a bit shocked to see the expats living a very lethargic life, oblivious to the rulthless capitalistic world out there. These folks (blessed, in a way) seldom had to throw "Hail Mary" for over 20 or 30 years. Yes, they have had their share of problems, especially in the health front, but they have had such a peaceful, pleasant and enjoyable family life that is still a dream-come-true for many expats living in the Western world. Trust me, I know it is true!! But, frankly, having learnt my lesson, I will not dare to venture into another Happy-Go-Lucky phase.
Perhaps, my transformation is put to test in an environment where there is hardly any motivation or inspiration. (Please bear with my boasting. It is truly a sense of joy.) Talking about test results, I have made tremendous progress: My weekly 10km runs, my recent 17km run, my 1km swimming, blogging, my target of doing a half marathon this year, I am VP-Public Relations at my Toastmasters Club, my weekly write-up for the Toastmasters Club (http://morisonmuscat.freetoasthost.biz/), progress in the certification/professional front, great progress in the family/personal/relationship front (perhaps, the best of all).
One of the most important lessons that I have learnt in my transformation process is "Humility is the only true wisdom by which we prepare our minds for all the possible changes of life.”
In today's world, most of us will need to throw a "Hail Mary" soon, as the world is bracing for the impact of the world-economic-tsunami that the world has never seen before and, even worse, there are no solutions even from the gurus yet. As Thomas Friedman blogs: the European Union is cracking up. The Arab world is cracking up. China’s growth model is under pressure and America’s credit-driven capitalist model has suffered a warning heart attack and needs a total rethink. Recasting any one of these alone would be huge. Doing all four at once — when the world has never been more interconnected — is mind-boggling. We are again “present at the creation” — but of what?
Let us not stop working and remember to enjoy the journey. Meanwhile, let us prepare ourselves for the "Hail Mary", if required, but at the same time be grateful and enjoy every precious moment of our lives with passion.
