LIFE SHARING - PAINTBALL GAME

PAINTBALL - LIFE SHARING

Wayback November 2013, on our blog sharing I wrote about that life is like a boxing.  We can read it again and again to remind ourselves that life is not easy, unless you are motivated, inspired and have a definitive plan “life structure survival” to execute till your journey in life ends.

Yesterday, February 12, 2015 we attended and participated on the 3^rd Annual Team Building that was hosted by Al Ain Holdings and Al Dahra Agriculture at Al Forsan International Sports Resort at Khalifa City UAE.  We have attended several team building on most occasions and we can definitely say that this is an event wherein we can pause for a while from the work toxics of corporate world where we enjoyed participating on all sorts of sports or tasks which teamwork should be the main factor for winning. But what is the real meaning of Team Building? Just to recap, in Wikipedia this is how it defines “Team building is the use of different types of team

interventions that are aimed at enhancing social relations and clarifying team members' roles, as well as solving task and interpersonal problems that affect team functioning.  There are many different definitions for team building we can get, regardless of how they define this two connecting words which is more likely to be the same, it would only fall to one word definition with finishing touch…”UNITY and APPLICATION.  It specifies the importance of knowing your role and teamwork to make a given task accomplished and successful in real world.  Do I need to mention that this is very important on our work? On our companies? Nah nah. Absolutely this is part of that purpose.

As for me, I decided to participate on this event expecting something different, something that I could learn and compare from my own personal life and other’s life. That is why on the first paragraph of this blog sharing, I mentioned about life symbolized by a boxing sport.  But by the way, I would like to crack this blog sharing into two separate points.  You think we can still finish this blog sharing? I am still at work and not that busy because gladly there is no office today and its already 4:13pm. Hahahah, I will miss again the service bus.  But no worries, I’m used to it. Toinks! 

So here we go.  The sports on the event yesterday are go cart racing, paintball, archery and shooting. Unfortunately we didn’t have the chance to participate on the shooting because we came to the venue late for some reasons, otherwise we would be champions, asa pa! hahahaha.  Well we have a chance for sure if kernel and Sir Otep is with us, they will be busted up, hak hak. I remember vividly Sir Arnel told me last week that we will be bringing the championship to Sheikh Hamdan Palace and those trophies and medals displayed on our cafeteria are bogus and should be replace with real golds.  Did I have any doubts on my mind? Nah… nah…after all Sir Arnel is an Archery player wayback, naks! Sir.. if you read this, my treat huh? Hahahaha. (kidding).

My friends, bro and sis, blog readers this I what I learned and I want to share it with you. Let’s breakdown one game per blog. (We need to divide our sharing because this is too long, I have

Much to share with you guys). hahaha

-PAINTBALL GAME-

I remember the moment when we wear our paintball battle suite, I am imagining how it is like to be a soldier and preparing for a battle. Though I want to seize the moment and enjoy I need to think that I am heading for a real war to fight and survive, fire with fire. This is what I am here for, to learn something and understands that when this is all over and the smoke is clear, I could see the real world with no further explanations.  To start with, we have our briefing (rules and mechanics) our gear is on ready for battle. 

This is the moment, while we are heading to the area I am thinking that this is the battlefield, no turning back, I need to get out a here alive when this is all over as a gazed the dome shape venue.  When we enter inside the ambiance is quite different and the ground is muddy, not a good idea that I wear white shoes that time, grrrrr. I need to clean hard afterwards or else I will have a lecture from my baby wife. Ahehehehe. By the way, the first game was elimination.  There were two teams, black and red, and we are the red team, approximately I think we are almost 20 each team.  So we need to eliminate each and every member of the other team for us to win, this is last man standing.  You will be out of the game once you are hit in the helmet and the chest, no shooting at the back and close range shooting for about or less than meter distance? As far as I remember after all, the bullet will hurt you badly if you don’t have gears and helmet, we are talking a paintball gun that shoots with at a standard velocity of 200mph, enough to pop up your eye and which will cause you to be blind and even to some other parts of your body when you got hit. Awwwww! 

So to make this short, we were deployed, we are standing our base positions on defense mode. First thing that comes to my mind, I need to survive and not get hit. I need a strategy, this is not

about fire with fire, not about bravery I need to use my head and analyze the situation.  I recall what does the man told us on the briefing that we will be eliminated and considered as dead if we got hit on the helmet and the front vest and including if you are already out of bullet. As far as I remember, hahaha. I started to fire one shot just to feel the situation and move from the other side of the wall, I noticed that I can’t run that fast because the floor is muddy, though this is a game we need to win and somehow take it seriously, again I reminded myself this is what I came for to learn and understand life.  Firing from all areas,  you can  hear the sound of the paintball bullet hitting all places, its’ like a rain, like a real war.  I covered myself for a while and can still feel the impact of the bullets hitting the wall to which I am hiding, this is a wooden wall.  I remember that moment if that is a real bullet, I’m dead. They are shooting there and there, I need to be cautious while advancing to the other side.  I remember I eliminated atleast 3 participants, and one by one I could see that some members from the other team was eliminated and for us too, one by one they were taken out, others have been hit and others runs out of bullet. I just keep myself thinking and thinking and make myself safe while firing and attacking, after all I am thinking as well that its only a matter of time I will be caught, on the other side as well I am thinking that  the game will end and we will be declared as the winner. I am getting tired running through the muds and running side by side, I couldn’t even see clearly because my helmet now is blurred due perspiration evaporation.  Again I am aware that my team mates had been eliminated one by one, it’s hard to go from here, how can we win if we are running out of members? Maybe this time we are only 5 or even 4 including me. I am half now of the area, there is no need to make any advances on position, I just need to make good hiding position to hit and not get hit (sounds like Floyd Mayweather huh? Hhahaha) I’m not doing shoulder roll, hehe. At one point I know that I will be eliminated even how hard I tried to be careful and cautious, this is my first experience of the game and somehow I know that there were participants who used to play the game and that would end my existence on the dome battlefield. I heard and saw that the facilitators saying it’s over. They are the one who is like a referee calling the shot if you are eliminated during the course of the game . Sound of firing stops  It’s over. I am tired.  I went back to our camp and straight ahead to the safe area to where the eliminated individuals has been standing. When I am walking they are smiling and laughing.. hahaha sounds like we won??? Somebody yelling at that we won, but to my surprise it is only that time that I know that they are smiling and telling me that I survived. I am the only one left on my team that had survived. What??? I thought they are  kidding but it is. The strategy works for me but unfortunately we are lose the match since from the other team they are still 4.  For me it doesn’t matter if we lose, the only thing that I know that moment is that I learned something.  Second round of the game has been on, I was selected to be the president for some reasons why, maybe im cute? No objection please J President needs to be protected, for a team to be able to win, the President needs to reach the other camp safely and not get hit, otherwise game over.  Again, I think again of a strategy and share it with them while we are preparing, but one of the member of my team refused to, and make his way to lead the plan and strategy, I think that moment that this guy knows the sport very well and I need to listen maybe he is always playing this kind of game. So we trust and do what He wants. Fast forward, we are loosers again for the second time. I didn’t have the chance to fight back and fire back or have my own movements or call my shots…I just only think that time that we don’t have a chance because, I was hit while sitting at the corner to where I was put to hide. My finger got hit and my right leg, it really hurts.  I actually have bruised on my left leg when I checked before I sleep that night.  I was a bit disappointed because the plan that was supposed to be a winning plan or strategy didn’t work because obviously there is no plan at all when I analyzed the situation. We trusted this guy to lead us to winning and only to found out that He just leave me behind only to get hit which I couldn’t even see who is shooting me. From that time I noticed that I don’t have anymore defender on my left and right side, because I was being hit and suddenly the troops from the other team walked in front of me and we are conquered.

Nahnah…hmmmm. Atlast it’s over. While we are walking outside to head to the next game, I talked to one guy on the other team and congratulated him and his team, I think He is a british.  I told them that we didn’t make it because I am only sleeping at the back and when I woke up it’s over, then He laughs, he told me he enjoyed the game and I told him I enjoyed as well. Then I asked him, can he imagine the life of the soldiers? On real wars? On how they risked and sacrificed their life to defend each and every one of us? It is not a joke, they leave their families to perform their duties and what happened to them? He just smiled at me and I didn’t got the answer that I want from him. 

That time when we are walking towards the next game I could hardly think of what happened to our Filipino soldiers namely “The Fallen 44” who are killed/massacred at Mamasapano, Maguindano Philippines on January 25, 2015. We know what happened.  Could you imagine the fight that they went through? I am only playing a paintball game and yet I can feel the risks and dangers, I understand well the need to survive and go back to the safe field alive.  These soldiers on a real world doesn’t have a chance to survive when they are crossing the death valley of wars, they didn’t even make to return to their beloved families alive.  I feel sorry for them, yet I salute their dedication and courage. It just happened that something was wrong that caused their lives, I think everything was wrong and not in their favor.  For us to be able to understand something, we need put ourselves on that situation, and the paintball game that I participated is one prime example.  Do I understand and learned something? Absolutely! Are you happy with what you have now? I don’t think so, check yourselves.  We are sleeping safe and sound at our houses, we are complaining most of the time, it seems like that we are the most unfortunate people in the world, though we have most of the things that other people is lacking, we are un-contented and not happy.  Whereas these soldiers risk everything for how much salary? they are eating canned sardines and a 5 years combat shoes? Are you kidding me? Where in the blue hell is that?  Hmmmm paintball… the game that I played, how could I connect something from this word “paintball” Let’s do something like this.  Since this is a two word combined together let’s make it separate like “ Paint” and Ball” and let us wrap up from here.  What is the first thing that comes into  your mind about “paint”? How about the word “ball” ?  Naturally, this is color and circle.  Wherein on the other perspective if we could just imagine, “Paint” for us is a variety of colors mixed, light or dark it could not only produces color “perse” but more than that is a picture of life whether it is colorful or not.  A “ball” is a round-shape thing which even when you tilt it would produce the same shape, there is up and down like the north and south pole. You know the best thing that you could do to a ball? Just place it in your hands and turn in round and round and round until you decided to stop, now check the brand name engraved on the ball if there is, maybe it is molten or Wilson? Where is now? on the upper part or lower part? On the left side or right side? In the middle? But you know the best thing that you could do? You could decide for yourself to where would you like to positioned this brand name. It’s all in our hands.

Just like from the previous blog sharing that we have, life is like a boxing sport.  Paintball really does as well, it does make sense.  But like all of these sports, we can get exhausted and we ended up stopping, our life is shaking and we quit. How can we understand life and win the life battle? It all depends on if you have the right perspective in life, the right mentor you could trust and the right motivation.  Do you know the secret? actually it is not really a secret,  you just need to open your eyes up there. Look up! He has your life, you just need to fully give it to Him and let Him take over and you will never ever lose any kind of battle. GOD’s purpose for you will prevail.