Elusive

Congratulations to Jarryd Hayne, winner of the Dally M for the best player in rugby league.  His form has been sensational, ever since the State of Origin.  It is inspirational to see someone fulfil their potential, especially after last year where an incident in King's Cross and a few other indiscretions indicated he may be heading off course.  

The beauty of watching Hayne play is that he is in the 'zone'.  The way he plays is at one with the game, making the right decisions more often than not, reacting to the play quicker than the rest, anticipating and showing creativity.  He's also the quickest over the first few metres that I have seen, with just that first step, he's gone.  He really is one of the most elusive players in the game today.

And really, that's what the zone is as well.  You can't mention it, or start overthinking it.  You can't even really think about how you got into the zone.  All you can do is to try and keep doing the same things, and stay in the zone for as long as you can.  Once you start thinking too much about it, you leave the zone.  A bad example of this phenomenon is Mike Hussey, who was like Bradman once he came into the Australian cricket team but is now more like a mere mortal.  The thing with Hussey is that it is always hard to maintain a great start to a career, as bowlers and teams identify weaknesses and come up with strategies to counter their strengths.  

There are a few other feelings in life that are just as elusive.  Joy.  Once you try to think about why you are happy, what caused it, you lose the feeling.  Especially if you start worrying about how long you will be in that state for.

It's not just feelings that are elusive.  Try remembering a song.  You know you've heard it, and you try and look for the picture in your head, a lyric, something about it to bring it back.  Or even going back to feelings for one second, try remembering how your favourite songs sounded the first time you heard them?  How they were so amazing you could listen to them on repeat, and each time be astounded?

Where do these things live?