At some point in our lives, most of us experience some kind of injury or illness that alters our outlook on life. These events often humble us and give us awareness of how grateful we are when we do have our health and livelihood. Whether it’s seeing someone close to us passing away, or feeling that something has been taken away from us, these events often teach us a lesson about changes we need to make either as an individual or community. 

For me, tearing my ACL just before the state tournament in basketball gave me some important life lessons. They often joked about the “Senior Curse” at St. Pius, in which the captains and stars of sports teams had season-ending injuries while trying to capture the crown. I had seen some of my fellow classmates in other sports have devastating injuries and end up in the hospital, but I never thought it could happen to me. Alas, that fateful day in Santa Fe while diving for a loose ball at half court, my knee was taken out and would never be the same. We had a great chance to win State that year, and although I was able to play a few more games with the team, I just was never the same player. Up to that point, basketball had been my whole life. I thought I would go to college and join the team there. I now had to reflect on what was really important, and ask some tough questions: How else could I spend my time outside of school? Will people still like me if I am not on a sports team? Was I training or doing things the wrong way and maybe could have prevented my injury?

I eventually learned to cope with my injury and found new and exciting things to do outside of basketball, like playing guitar and writing songs, volunteering for organizations, and making friends who were different from me in many ways. I guess it was something that I needed to be taught somehow. I needed to learn to be more humble and that things weren’t always going to go my way. As I saw several people close to me pass away from illness that year, I realized that bad things happened to good people, and that there was often no reason or rhyme to it. We can try to control everything around us, but sometimes just one stroke of bad luck or bad timing can change, or end, our lives. I had to learn to let go and to live more in the moment instead of meticulously planning for the future.

As Fragile as Life

I have been reflecting on this frequently lately as I see that continued surge of Covid-19 in our country and across the planet. From Russell Westbrook to Tom Hanks and Nick Cordero, famous athletes and celebrities have not been immune to the virus, despite having great medical care. Politicians like Boris Johnson, who laughed off the virus, have ended up fighting for their lives against it. Young people like the 30 year old man in Texas who died from the virus after attending a Covid party often think the illness is a hoax until it is too late. 

Neva Give Up

We still have a long fight ahead as a country and planet to help contain and survive this pandemic until there is a vaccine or treatment readily available (which is looking more optimistic by the day). In the meantime, I think there are some lessons we can learn from this tragic illness that has taken lives across the globe. First, I have observed how some countries’ people have put aside personal and political differences to come together for a common cause. The results speak for themselves, and I hope this is something the US population can learn from other nations. Second, maybe the way some of us were going about our lives before all of this could use some adjustments. I no longer need to waste gas driving to work when it is not needed. I also don’t miss singing at bars ‘til 2am as I get older, and my liver is definitely grateful for the change as well. I think many of us have changed for the better, and we need to keep these changes up as things return to the new normal. Third, this pandemic has forced us to evaluate who and what are most important in our lives.

Bosque trails lead to Family/Friends

Many of our circles have gotten smaller, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. I may not need to fly to Europe to be with a long-lost friend when I can take a walk in the Bosque with my family and friends who live here.

Finally, just as my injury taught me, there has never been a better time to live in the moment and not worry about the past or future. There are so many things that are outside of our control right now, and things will likely never be the way they were before. But we are at a crossroads in which we can change ourselves and work together to create a more peaceful and just society. If each of us can take a few minutes each day to show gratitude for our lives and those around us, we may emerge out of this illness as a smarter, kinder, and happier humanity. 

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