🏈 A Soulful Sunday Reflection on Pain, Suffering, and Deion Sanders
Getting to the truth of the matter, the heart of the issue, and issues of the heart. 💙
Yes, you heard me right. Deion Sanders. Let me explain…
You see…
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Most People Don’t Want to be Medicated 💊💊💊
They want to feel seen
They want to feel heard
They want to feel understood
They want to learn about themselves
They want to feel good in their own body
They want to feel safe inside their own mind 🧠 🧠 🧠
“I found out at an early age that people tend to self-medicate through any means of vice within reach when they are in pain and in need of relief.”
They don’t want to feel pain
They don’t want to feel alone
They don’t want to feel broken
They don’t want to feel ignored
They don’t want to feel misunderstood
They don’t want to feel scared of silence with just themselves alone 😩😩😩
Most people just want to feel loved, appreciated, respected, and as aligned to a sense of personal vitality as much as they can.
When we are in pain, when we feel lost, and when we feel broken… we will look for and hope for anything to help.
If we are not careful, the things we can so easily run to for relief are the very same things we can be enslaved by and grow to become dependent upon.
Some people turn to hopelessness, others turn to drugs and alcohol.
Some people turn to food to soothe their woes, others turn to excessive exercise to shed the burning sensation and distract themselves from the pressure on their shoulders.
Some people turn to pornography, escape to movies, television, or video games. Others turn to eccentric environments for an extreme emotional release with music and mayhem like in the days of Dionysus.
Few people choose a narrow path, the one of self-interrogation and introspection. Fewer still choose the path of abstinence and hold themselves to a higher standard.
But somehow, Deion Sanders aka “Coach Prime” aka “Prime Minister” has been speaking out about his experience in life growing up with a biological father who was a drug addict and an alcoholic stepfather. Pointing to these two characters as the reason why he never smoked weed or drank alcohol in his whole life.
The reason why this sounds so shocking is because it is so commonly accepted today, which causes a story like this, one which highlights his own observation of pain and heartache to allow him the gain the perspective he needed for a narrow path, one of self-discipline, intrinsic motivation, and a desire to be different.
In a world battling for our attention to demoralize our spirits, prop up victimhood, and essentially expose ourselves all over the internet, I find characters like Deion Sanders to be oddly amazing in our day and age. He has single-handedly framed the image of fatherhood, mentorship, and coaching young men to be one of devotion, faithfulness, grit, and gratitude in the last few years.
He has increasingly spoken up about his faith and his story has somehow made his way into the public zeitgeist to where most young athletes today know his name beyond his own professional football legacy. Young athletes today are witnessing a true coach, a man of devout principles leading and educating those who follow him. Deion Sanders is a different kind of role-model than most and for uniqueness, I am thankful and encouraged by his growing presence and prominence in sports.
One of the key messages he continues to preach to his players and to global audiences listening in, is one that focuses on personal self-development, hard work, and dedication, respect for others, and respect for self. He has a “no - tolerance” policy for drugs and alcohol with his football programs, as he sees them as too strong of distractions from the game and for his players’ futures.
If he plays the role of the guide and he is to help shepherd his players (including his sons) both in the world of football and the game of life, then he has purpose behind his actions as pushes others to be their very best, presents them with challenges, and demands they play the role of the hero in their own life story.
They are not victims. Deion could have so easily succumbed to believe himself the victim in his own life story - but he didn’t. His players are active participants leading their lives on the greatest mission of achievement they can seek for themselves and their teammates.
We are all active participants in our own life’s story.
There are numerous lessons we could learn from the phenomenon simply known as PRIME and I encourage you to explore the wisdom we have to glean from his own life story and personal testimony - in football and in faith.
Similar to Deion Sanders, I watched a lot of brokenness as a child. I witnessed many poor choices and was unknowingly blessed with the opportunity to explore my character on my own for most of my youth. I chose not to get involved with things that held so many layered memories of pain and heartache as I got older and found myself growing into more and more of an oddity compared to my peers.
I held myself to a separate set of standards and simply didn’t understand how others could be bothered with what I received to be a means of escape, to lose thyself, and avoid the heart of the issue… a deeper issue of the heart.
I found out at an early age that people tend to self-medicate through any means of vice within reach when they are in pain and in need of relief. I spent too much time alone as a child to be scared of myself. I spent too much time in pain to be afraid of a temporary feeling. I spent too much time carrying boulders on my shoulders to be bothered carrying the pressures of others.
Sure, these differences pushed me to the outside and I’ve remained much of an outsider to common secular culture ever since I can remember. I’ve grown to respect these differences instead of seeing them with self-destructive deceptions of self-comparison.
For example, one of my closest mentors and friends in college described me as being “either the most normal weird kid or the most weird normal kid.”
In my current life at 28 yrs old, I feel I’m on the cusp of the next stage of transformational transition for my soul. Having lived nearly 25 yrs of my life fighting for my family in one way or another, I’ve grown to realize I’ve lacked the necessary boundaries, faith, and confidence to throttle forward without worrying about how the dust settles behind me.
I can only hope - and choose to hope - that the future looks bright.
Perhaps the only Father I’ve ever known has walked me through these stages of life and learning to help shape and sculpt me to possess a unique perspective that will be of great value for me and others in the future. I can only hope my 28 yrs of existence and 15 yrs of writing has helped at least a few people see themselves or the world around them differently than before.
Hopefully my life’s journey has led me to where I am today to help guide others along their own unique way in this world. This has been a foundational belief behind my life’s calling ever since I can remember. My earliest memory for this aim begins in first grade and has never left since. This purpose and mission has helped guide me as I seek to guide others.
Lord knows we need each other. Lord knows we can’t do it alone.
My sincerest hope is that we help others when we get the chance to tell our own stories and present the lessons we’ve learned and insights about the world out there. Storytelling has always been our most primitive tool in teaching and instruction, science and dissemination.
Yes, I’m still out here seeking and searching - and perhaps you are too.
Good. I believe we can get to a place much greater together than we could ever get to alone.
If you’re interested in learning more about the concept of a hero’s journey, check out last week’s story below. 👇👇👇
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