Fred Kane

THE INNER DUMB DOG

From an outside perspective, seeing a young man sprinting towards a flying disc with his mouth gaping, drooling due to focus, just to run into a pole and break his nose probably looks moronic, but in that moment I had nothing on my mind except the frisbee and an intense feeling of enlightenment.

Playing sports, specifically frisbee, is a very healthy outlet for me not just in a physical sense, but also in a mental sense. I started playing ultimate frisbee in high school, and ended up as the captain of my high school team over a band of goons who I call brothers and also individually made the state team for Georgia where we competed at nationals. Ultimate frisbee became a surprising way for me to cope with the stress I dealt with as a highschooler (not much). Whenever I experienced mental turmoil or an aspect of my life was not going in the direction I intended, I found that if I went outside and played frisbee that those thoughts seemed to dissipate. I would feel as if nothing was in this world besides the disc in front of me, and the field my feet slammed against, almost as an act of defiance against the worldly struggles I experienced. Once again, in the moment, I was not aware of how much joy and awe I was experiencing. However, looking back on the issues I experienced and how frisbee helped me to find fun in the absurd, I realize how much it impacted my life in a positive manner. This fleeting feeling of joy and being in love with what I'm doing, is what I believe I live for. The care-free, clumsy, and reckless running as I chase a disc down is what has given my life meaning. Well, maybe not frisbee specifically, but rather finding happiness in something I'm passionate about, and simply enjoying what I find fun is what has given me meaning. For me, being happy and living a fulfilling life means embracing the inner dumb dog in you, and finding what makes you run into poles and break your nose.