Former National Basketball Association (NBA) star Bill
Russell, who played in the NBA from 1956 to 1969, was a player who rejected
individual honours in pursuit of the greater good of the team. He was five times
named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, twelve times an All Star, and won 11
championships in his 13-year career with the Boston Celtics. A rounded player
who contributed both offensively and defensively, many consider Russell one of
the game’s greatest players. “Individual stats are great for golf, tennis and
most track and field [events]…but I played a team sport.” To Russell’s mind,
“the only important thing is how does my play impact my team’s winning or
losing.”
This healthy, philosophical attitude is one that could allow us to obtain
positive outcomes if we considered the impact of our actions on the great web of
life which connects us all. Questions to ask: How do my actions impact me,
physically and mentally? How do they impact my fellow beings, the society in
which I live, the Earth which sustains me?
Russell goes on to speak about his practical approach to varying situations,
both on and off the court. “…You come to a situation and it’s neither good nor
bad, it just is, and what it means to you is what’s your take on it. But the
second part of the equation is what are you going to do about it? A lot of
times, I’m completely wrong, but all you do is back up and start over.”
Russell’s perspective on life echoes the attitude exemplified and taught by many
of the great philosophers in history, from the Vedic sages to Plato and
Shakespeare. We come across myriad situations in life, none intrinsically ‘good’
or ‘bad’, but all situations requiring attention, consideration and action. We
can allow them to stress or exhilarate. We can also, with elevated perspective,
manage each in turn with our own capacities, manifest or hidden, and guide each
situation in such a way that they not only aid in the accomplishment of our
goals, with individual and collective goods in mind, but also so that they aid
in shaping our character and strengthening us as human beings.
