HEART WORK
It’s not often that one single sports story dominates an entire week of headlines, but that’s what happened this week. You’ve undoubtedly heard by now about the shocking events of Monday night’s NFL game, when Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin collapsed in cardiac arrest and nearly died there on the field in Cincinnati.
The quick thinking and decisive and heroic actions of the team’s medical staff saved Hamlin’s life, and though at this time his condition remains critical, his improvement over the last few days is a positive sign. But what those of us who were watching that night saw - not only the shocking sight of a young, dynamic athlete crumbling to the ground, but the effect it had on those involved - is the kind of thing that’s hard to forget. It shook people to their core. Damar Hamlin was the only one receiving treatment for a medical emergency, but there was a lot of heart work happening in that moment, there in the stadium and around the country.
Damar Hamlin was the only one receiving treatment for a medical emergency, but there was a lot of heart work happening in that moment, there in the stadium and around the country.
As usually happens in a moment of tragedy, what seemed really important to teammates, opponents, and fans only a minute earlier suddenly became irrelevant. This huge, late-season matchup between two top teams with major playoff implications? Suddenly irrelevant. The thrill of competing at the highest level on a national stage? Irrelevant. Even the Buffalo Bills player, #3 lying on the ground in that moment was irrelevant. It was the person there - Damar Hamlin, the man, the son, the brother - that mattered. What role he played on the team, what he could do to help them win, and his production or performance as a player were meaningless in that moment. His life alone meant everything.
Photo credit: AFP
It’s sad but true that for too many of us, tragedy is one of the only effective ways to produce some perspective. That’s human nature I guess. But while the world moves on, the teams get back to work, and their pursuit of success ensues - hopefully all as Damar Hamlin continues to improve - I have to think that traumatic event brought some clarity to those involved in a way that didn’t exist before that night. I’m hoping it can help those of us on the outside of this experience looking in, too, those of us working to win in our own lives, to gain a little clarity for ourselves.
I don’t think gaining that clarity for ourselves means making our pursuit of success irrelevant. Whatever big, important things you’re working to accomplish in life deserve to have meaning. The pursuit of success matters, and it’s worthy of your energy and your effort. But today might be a good day to see a little more clearly that while that pursuit is something, it isn’t everything. There are some other things, in fact, that matter more than whatever it is you’re after. A tragedy would shockingly and probably painfully hammer that point home for you in an instant. You’d be better served to use a moment like this one to recognize it for yourself, and work to find a little balance and perspective on your own terms, without any help.
The same can be said for the people who are part of your pursuit. The role they play and how they help your team win is anything but meaningless. But today might be a good day to see a little more clearly that while their production and their performance is something, it isn’t everything. Who they are - the person behind the performance and beyond the production? That matters, too. A tragedy would hammer that point home in an instant. So again I say, you’d be better served to recognize it here and work to find a little balance and perspective on your own terms, instead of waiting for a tragedy to clarify it.
More than anything else, I think the best response to what happened to Damar Hamlin on Monday night is to do a little heart work of our own, which is most authentically expressed through some reflection and some gratitude. Gratitude that Damar Hamlin is alive and improving, of course. But gratitude, too, for the opportunities we’ve been given to pursue success in our own lives, and for the people who are a part of it. Practicing that kind of gratitude is important because it’s evidence we have the balance and perspective to see that some things are bigger than a game, bigger than a performance, bigger than an outcome. It's easy for that to get lost sometimes, but that’s what I’m focused on today - on some heart work of my own. I'd encourage you to do the same.