“When one door closes, another door opens; but we so often look so long and regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” ― Alexander Graham Bell

Last week I had bid adieu to a hobby that has consumed my spare time for much of my adult life. I had decided that after nearly 19 years, I would “retire” from running my fantasy hockey league. To most of you, this means nothing and may seem like a silly waste of time, I get that. But this game has been the bonding agent among the best of my friends and has been the kick-starter to my career as a software developer. It may have been a tremendous time waster for a lot of the guys involved, but it has meant so much to each of us who were fortunate enough to be a part of it.

You see, this hockey league (or “The League” as it is known to us) has been the topic of conversation between myself and 13 other buddies scattered across Canada. We would meet frequently in person to perform off-season duties and more importantly form a bond that would center around a fun game that we all loved and were very passionate about. Whenever we would not see each other for a bit, “The League” would be the icebreaker and it would be an easy topic to discuss.

I decided to move on because I had lost passion in what I had created. It was a very tough decision but sometimes we have to walk away from things in our life that has given us much joy but may have run its course. When the passion from what you do dwindles, you need to leave it behind before resentment sets in. Once that sets in, it can ruin the good things that you have worked so hard to build. I guess you would call this “Walking away while you’re at the top”.

What will I fill that void with? Earlier this year I had decided to take my life on with more passion and work harder on my health and my relationships. I have begun to mindfully dedicate my spare time to all things positive. I hope by trying new things, another door will open and I will once again find a hobby that will bring me the joy I once had for “The League”. Come to think about it, I may have already found it by writing this blog!

Thank you, Dave, Don, Dustin, Earl, Jamie, James, John K., John N., Jon, Quintin, Roger, Shannon and Trent for all the laughs, dedication, help and most of all the friendship that you had brought to “The League” and to my life!

Updated resolution numbers:

183 of 1000 KMs walked

12 of 50 blog entries posted

5 of 10 books read