When you have a competitive spirit, but don’t play any sports, engaging with a team that you are passionate about does a lot to feed your soul. That’s what I am finding with the Utah Jazz NBA team this season.

Although I’ve always been a fan of the game, I haven’t taken too much interest in it for the last few years. I would watch a game here and there, but I wasn’t fully invested in it. And I didn’t take much interest in the players either.

When the Jazz made the playoffs last season all that changed. Everyone around me started to “take note” causing me to do the same. There was a lot of excitement around our community, especially about the rookie, Donovan Mitchell. He ignited my love of the game again for sure, but it was Ricky Rubio who drew me back in, and not for the reason you might think.

It was 3:00 in the morning when I woke up with all these thoughts going through my mind. I tried to ignore them, but they wouldn’t go away. I knew I wouldn’t be able to go to sleep until I wrote them down, so I grabbed a notebook and pen and started writing.

When the heavens open up and drop beautiful words into the mind of a writer, out of the blue, that is a coveted moment no matter what time it is. Especially for an inspirational writer like me. In those moments, words seem to come quickly and flow easily, as if they are divinely inspired.

What emerged from this 3am writing session was a poem. A poem for Ricky Rubio. The funny thing is, I didn’t even know who he was prior to the playoffs. If someone would have said his name to me, I would have said ‘‘who is that?’ So, to be inspired to write a poem for him out of the blue, when two weeks earlier I didn’t even know who he was… that caught my attention. As a result, I made a conscious decision to be present for the Jazz this season.

That means watching every televised game that I can, barring any family or work activities. Also attending as many games in person as financially possible, which is a challenge because the value of the tickets increased with the team’s popularity. Not only that, tickets are in high demand. Jazz fans show up. Every seat is filled for most of the games during the season, not just during the playoffs.

Being present also means following the team on social media and engaging with them. Taking an interest in the players. It means serving as a support system, through the good times and the bad. Just because a team starts out 0–4 at home, doesn’t mean you abandon them. It doesn’t mean you stop believing in them. It’s means you feel their pain.

After the fourth straight loss at home, I kept wishing I could say something magical and meaningful to lift their spirits. I have developed empathy for them now. When they are down, I feel down. When they are hyped, I feel hyped.

There are many times I get so hyped that I can’t sit down to watch the game. I have too much energy. Instead, I stand in front of my 55-inch TV yelling at the screen. Yes! Go Ricky! Nice. Shot. Donovan. Nooo! That’s a bad call! I clap with every shot made and groan with every shot missed, just like I am there in person. And if they are down in the fourth quarter, I find myself pleading… Please let them win. Please let them win.

As much fun as it is being present for the game, I have also found a lot of joy in paying attention to the little things.

Derrick Favors’ cute little daughter stretching with him before the game. Mimicking his every move. Looking up at him as if he is the greatest dad in the world.

The little boy’s face when Donovan Mitchell gave him his towel after the game with the Mavericks. The expression on his face was priceless. A small but meaningful gesture that made that little boy’s day.

The way Ricky Rubio and Jae Crowder often point up to heaven during a game. A nod to their mothers, maybe? If so, I wholeheartedly appreciate that. Those are just some of the little things.

Donovan Mitchell showing up to a fan’s BBQ on the 4th of July. That’s big. Signing autographs for the family of Mayor Brent Taylor who recently lost his life in Afghanistan. That’s big. Loyalty to Utah? That’s big.

We have a great group of guys on this team. I’ve heard many people in this fanbase say how blessed we are to have them. Not just because of their athletic ability, but also because of who they are, individually and collectively.

Jazz fans have experienced some hefty heartbreak from players leaving Utah for bigger and better things, so when someone like Donovan Mitchell comes in and shows us loyalty, we eat it up. In fact, many of the players have expressed their loyalty.

When Joe Ingles says “I’m all Utah” we love that. When Derrick Favors says “thank you Utah” upon his return for the season, that makes us happy. When Rudy Gobert tells a reporter he’s not leaving to pursue a title elsewhere, because he finds more value in building something great here… Respect.

This team has a unique relationship with the fans. They don’t diminish us. They treat us like we’re the best fans in the NBA. They are aware of things that are important to us and they don’t downplay their significance. For example, the game on Nov 9th against the Boston Celtics. They knew that game was important for the fans because it was the return of Gordon Hayward. Someone who had broken our hearts.

We wanted that win and they didn’t let us down. They brought their A game. In the words of Jae Crowder: “It was a playoff atmosphere. We did it for everyone in the arena. Thank you tonight.” I think he wanted that win as badly as we did. We needed that win. It helped us heal. Now we can move on to bigger and better things. That means leaving the past behind and giving our hearts to this team.

They accomplished their goal of getting people to take note, now the pressure is on. Will they be able to rise to the challenge that has now been set for them? Only time will tell, but I’m excited I chose to be fully present for it all, no matter what happens. Don’t get me wrong, I want them to bring home the title. I have that competitive spirit. It’s just that I am discovering how being present is a reward itself and I can’t wait to see what else I experience this season because of it.

I think Gail Miller, owner of the Utah Jazz, said it best in her book Courage to be YOU…

“We understand that each team starts on equal footing in October and by June there is only one champion. Let’s not sugarcoat it, we want that trophy in Utah as much as anyone. That’s what we play for. We put the best team we can on the floor and hope that this is the year. But if our players play their very best, if we entertain our fans and treat everyone well, we can deliver a successful experience. When we win a title, and we will, we’ll do it the right way! Good guys don’t always finish last.”

Originally published at www.authorlindahiggins.com on November 10, 2018.

With the billions of people in this world, sometimes it can feel like you don’t matter in the overall scheme of things. It’s easy to get lost in the crowd. It’s as if you are standing in a sea of people and nobody can find you because you are a small spec somewhere in the middle of everyone.

Yet, without you humanity wouldn’t be complete. You may be one small spec in a sea of people, but you are valuable to humanity as a whole. If you think what you have to offer doesn’t matter, think again. Somebody needs what you have to give.

Somebody needs your time, because they have no one in their lives who will give of theirs.

Somebody needs your kindness, because they have started to lose hope in humanity.

Somebody needs your compassion, because they want someone to help ease their pain.

Somebody needs your love, because they have started to feel like they aren’t cared about anymore.

Somebody needs your friendship, because they long for someone to talk to, to spend time with, to laugh with and do fun things with.

Somebody needs your insight, because something you have gone through will now help them in what they are going through.

Somebody needs your support, because they are feeling overwhelmed with their struggles.

Somebody needs you to believe in them, because they want to make you proud.

Somebody needs your skill set, because you can do things easily with those skills that would be difficult for others.

Somebody needs your passion, because they need the uplifting energy you will bring to the table.

Somebody needs your strength, because right now in this moment they feel weak.

Somebody needs your inspiration, because they could use the encouragement.

Somebody needs your talent, because it provides value to them in some way.

Somebody needs you to go for your dreams, because in doing so, you will inspire them to go for theirs.

Somebody needs you to be true to who you really are, because that gives them permission to be true to who they are.

You have gifts and talents and strengths and insights to offer the world. You have the ability to extend kindness and compassion where it is needed. To give encouragement and support where it is wanted. You have people who want your love. People who value your talent. People who need your strength.

When you give of these things to humanity, your value in the sea of people becomes clear. You are not one spec in the crowd. You are the crowd. You are part of humanity as a whole and your value cannot be overstated.

Somebody needs what you have to give.

~ Linda Osberg Higgins

If you would like a PDF copy of this article, click here. Upon entering your email, you will able to download it.

Originally published at www.inspirationbylinda.com on December 15, 2015.

For those who feel empty and lonely today
Ask to feel love in your heart when you pray

For those who feel hopeless and somewhat afraid
Ask to have people who come to your aid

For those who feel anxious and full of dismay
Ask to have something relieve it today

For those who feel sorrow and heartache and pain
Ask that your suffering not be in vain

For those who feel broken or even betrayed
Ask to remember of what you are made

For those who feel lacking in purpose and grace
Ask to be used for Humanity’s sake

For those who feel happiness starting to wane
Ask for the insight to make it remain

For those who feel doubtful that dreams find a way
Ask to be shown that you’ll live them someday

For those who feel certain that love causes pain…
Give yours for nothing and see what you gain

For love is the answer to all your dismay
So ask to feel love in your heart when you pray

~ Linda Osberg Higgins

Here’s a video I created with the poem. Hope you enjoy it.

Originally published at www.inspirationbylinda.com on December 8, 2015.

There is nothing so rewarding as to make people realize that they are worthwhile in this world. — Bob Anderson

I’ve always been someone who is very much driven by love. I love to love. I love to feel love. I love the effect it has on me. I want to do work that I love. I want a life that I love. I want a house that I love. I want a relationship that I love. It holds such importance for me that I’ve come to realize that learning about love is the purpose of my life.

I used to think of love as something I got from others; something that was given to me by someone when they saw something they liked in me. That made me dependent on other people loving me in order to feel a sense of worth. When they showed me love and affection, I felt good about myself. When they stopped showing me love and affection or denied me love and affection, I felt bad about myself. That put me in the position of needing others to show me my worth through their actions. When they didn’t, I started questioning, “What’s wrong with me. Am I not worth loving?”

That wasn’t just the case with people — it was also the case with God. What I learned in church as a child was that God was a fatherly figure in the sky looking down on me with a stern eye, always discerning whether I am “worthy” to live with him again someday. Therefore, when my life was going well, I thought that meant God was loving me. When my life wasn’t going well, I thought that meant God was punishing me, abandoning me. Again, causing me to wonder… “What’s wrong with me? Am I not worth loving?”

That’s the fundamental belief I carried into my life as an adult. That I’m not worth loving. Which meant, I always needed someone to prove me wrong. That negative belief caused me, and others, a lot of heartache. Sometimes that resulted in me doing things and behaving in ways I am not proud of, but those experiences made me who I am today.

They forced me down a path of learning how to love and respect myself. As a result, I’m able to help others do that now too. In fact, it’s something I am very passionate about. When I see someone being treated like they aren’t worth loving, it lights a fire inside of me, because I know what it feels like. When I see that happening, I am compelled to empower the person being targeted; I want them to stand strong in their own worth, despite the attempts of others to rob them of it.

I think a lot of people simply don’t understand what it means to love yourself. I know, I didn’t. Are you supposed to feel all these warm and fuzzy feelings for yourself? Are you supposed to stand in front of the mirror and adore yourself? Maybe for some people, but that is definitely not how I interpret self- love. This is how I have come to understand it:

Self-love is not a feeling of adoration for oneself; it is a attitude of respect for oneself.

I know there are so many people who ask themselves the same question I used to ask myself. “What’s wrong with me. Am I not worth loving?” To those people I would like to say, yes my dear friends, you most certainly are worth loving, but it starts with you. Choose to respect yourself. That means talking to yourself, thinking of yourself and treating yourself with love and care and kindness and compassion. If you don’t, other people won’t either. It starts with you.

As you can probably tell, I am very passionate about helping people feel worthy of love. I want them to feel it deep within. I want them to learn how to treat themselves with love and respect. I want them to see that they are fully and unconditionally loved, supported and cared about by a Higher Power. I want them to know that there is nothing wrong with them. That there is no such thing as being unworthy of love…because you are love. I want people to experience that truth. I want to help people find the love they have been looking for all along, which only exists…inside of them.

And I can do it….because I’ve been through it.

Once I started respecting myself, I was able to say goodbye to the negating thoughts, attitudes and behaviors I used to have. Now when someone shows me love and affection, I cherish it, of course, but if they take away that love and affection, I don’t fall apart. Sure it hurts me, but my sense of worth isn’t tied up in it any longer. I know their inability to love is more about them than it is me. I was finally able to say goodbye to those feelings of unworthiness. I did that through a letter.

Dear Unworthiness:

I’m writing this letter to say goodbye. I’ve held on to you for way too long now. You’ve served me well in the past. You were my great excuse not to. My great excuse not to believe in myself. My great excuse not to take responsibility for my life. My great excuse for not being successful. My great excuse for not moving on. My great excuse for not earning money. My great excuse for not having a career I love…but you don’t serve me well anymore, because I found out that I am worthy. Therefore, it’s time to let you go.

With love and appreciation for the lessons, I release you now.

To love oneself is to have an attitude of respect for oneself. It is an act of appreciating oneself. It is thinking thoughts that affirm the good about oneself. It is to treat yourself with love, kindness, care, compassion, forgiveness, and appreciation. It is honoring who you really are and standing in that truth.

Whatever you look for you will find, so start asking yourself what’s right with me, instead of what’s wrong with me? Either way, you will get answers. In the words of Eugene lonesco, “it is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.”

Make yourself a promise to stop disrespecting yourself. You’re cutting off your power when you do that, and you know what…it’s time to get back.

If you need my help in doing that, let me know. I’m always up for empowering people. That’s what I was born to do.

~Linda Osberg Higgins

Originally published at www.inspirationbylinda.com on November 23, 2015.