Generosity of the Spirit

Something I love to talk about is the generosity of spirit that I see in people. This doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, I take a moment and really feel its power.  Like a stone in a pond, the ripple effects are far reaching. Armando Galarrago of the Detroit Tigers certainly showed a huge spirit of generosity when Jim Joyce cost him a perfect game.  And what did he gain?  Days later we are still talking about and exploring the details of what happened. What happened here is the grounding of the human spirit, the value in forgiving, and being man enough to admit being wrong.  Not easy for any man that I know.  Jim Joyce made a mistake, a big mistake and then he apologized.  He cried, he felt badly, but he didn’t walk away standing by a decision he made in a split second that was wrong. 

This particular generosity of spirit was such a human event where one man declared, I did something wrong, I made a wrong decision. There is time for criticism, but also a time of forgiveness and pure honesty.  I think the thought of admitting error frightens most of us half to death.  We live in a world where nothing is perfect, yet we all have the perception that so much should be.  Matt Lauer on the Today Show this morning thanked Jim Joyce for setting such a good example of good sportsmanship for his children and family. This gives him an opportunity to teach and share a bona fide lesson about the generosity of the spirit. What a shame that we have to strike while the iron is hot for these important lessons in life. Why are there not more of them?  Why aren’t more of our leaders, sports stars and corporations being more generous with their spirit?  Good questions, all of them, but for now, we can look at two men, one who made an egregious error at the expense of another, and one who smiled and forgave with no malice.  It is a good day, a good week, and a good time to witness this wonderful act of generosity, and mostly I think we all needed it, because there just isn’t enough to go around these days.  Thank you Armando, and Jim for teaching all of us your generosity of spirit. It just feels good.