Greedy for lives

In a couple of hours, the World Cup final will take place between Spain and the Netherlands.  700 million people are expected to watch worldwide.  Just think what it would be like to be one of the players.  Or, one of the players' parents.  There are sure to be many players in teams that played in matches leading to the finals that will watch with some envy or pain.  There are commentators in every language ready to talk about the match.

The older I get, the more I realize that I might have been a good athlete or a coach or a sports photographer.  I might have manufactured the shoes or the balls the players use.  I might have been a taxi driver in Johannesburg or in Los Angeles trying to get fans to a match or a plane to get there.  As I get older and build up my knowledge and appreciation for the world and its complexity, I realize there are so many paths that life can place us on.  I get interested in the story of each person, each family, each deliberative group, whether it is a group of kids who are a street gang in Brazil or the senators of Idaho or the city council of Madrid.

As I watch or talk or read or listen, I find I am part of the lady who used to be a university financial auditor but is now retired and spends her time reading, walking a little and keeping her plants watered.  Then, I am only two and am just learning to talk.  I have tons of ideas and everything is new and exciting but I am sometimes frustrated that I can't pronounce words clearly enough to make my important observations understood.  Sometimes, I am a mentally ill person who realizes that I am secretly the head of intelligence for my country.  Sometimes, I am a saddened politician who just wants out of the game, even though not half of my dreams have been realized.

I am afflicted with greed for more than one life and am doing my best to satisfy my hunger.