March Madness

I thought I would take a little break from Posts on Faith and Philosophy, but as a Catholic this is good, because we love all things human, everything true, everything good, and everything beautiful. What could be more beautiful than March. This post is an ode to the wonderful month of March, and a list of what makes it so great:

1.) March Madness- The NCAA tournament is amazing when you think about, what makes it great are two things the Pools, and the under-dogs. I have met people that never liked basketball, and before and after the tournament they still don't like basketball, but after filling out a Pool, they begin to live and die for every game. Plus, winning a neighborhood pool, or an office pool requires no basketball pedigree. I have to say, I know a lot about basketball, not only did I play the game, but I have been a junkie for my whole life, my dad is an absolute junkie, and I have lived and breathed basketball for my whole life. I have never even come close to winning a Pool, let me repeat, I have a PHD in basketball, but I have never won a Pool. Its always the house-wife or the little kid who wins, and this is why its great. Everyone can own it. Plus there's a lot of teams- (65), so chances are there's a connection to a team to root for, and the under-dogs, we see ourselves in these teams, we should always keep the belief that great things are always about to happen.

2.) The Start of Spring- I love the spring, I love everything about it, the extended hours, the smells, the colors. People are happier. Spring's another proof that happiness is contagious, and happiness makes life more agreeable for those around us. Spring is all about hope, its a big thing to realize in our spiritual lives, that we don't have to make peace with the darkness, that soon water will flow again, colors will return, Spring tells us that we are made for happiness! We don't have to say, well my life will never change, and find comfort in misery. Winter and darkness have much to teach us, but nature makes it very clear, we are not meant to stay there, we are meant for Spring.

3.) St. Patricks/St. Joseph's Day- If your Catholic, with a little luck one of these feast days will fall on a Friday, and the Bishop usually exempts Catholics from the Fast. This is actually a great lesson, when I first converted back to the Faith, I was totally against this, I reasoned, there's only 6-7 major fast days in the Church, we should keep them all. Until someone told me, "Tony, don't be more Catholic than the Pope," The Church likes to rejoice, and we should joyfully fast when appropriate and rejoice when appropriate.

So let's all resolve to enjoy the month of March, because the years and our life's best days are in front of us!