We all got a big wake-up call on Monday night, & on through the rest of the week as we waited & hoped for positive updates.
When you watched the events that took place on that field in Cinci – whether it was live or you were told by a friend or fam member to turn it on, you became part of a large team: Team Human.
At that moment – we all wanted the same thing…we wanted this young man to make it…to live…to be able to have a life where he could continue on & share that smile. And at that moment…& in the days that followed, consider this:
It didn’t matter if you were D or R, left or right, for or against more gun control, a climate activist or denier, in favor of overturning Roe or codifying it…we all cared about the SAME thing: the health & wellness of this young man. And we all FELT a connectivity bc of a shared experience we’d been through, together.
We saw it in the players kneeling in a huddle (in different jerseys) on the field. We saw it in the droves of fans who came outside of Hamlin’s hospital to show support. We saw it in the millions donated to this young man’s charity. And we saw it in so many other ways – just a few examples shared on the following slides ➡️: from teammates to players on the opposing team, elementary school students to owners of other franchises…even players in other sports.
9/11 is one of the last times I can remember this type of camaraderie – that our world is sorely missing now…that sense of connection & caring for one another.
And while we wish these events never had to take place, do we see a pattern? Shared TRAUMAS we all live through are what BIND us together as ONE team more than anything else on this planet – even when the angle of the trauma impact is different.
That makes sense in the macro. But in the micro it’s so powerful too: you don’t need to have experienced the EXACT same trauma at the same time as others, to be able to connect. Pain & overwhelm from challenging events are a part of life – for ALL of us. That IS what mental health IS. I’m hoping that events like these help us realize how much more the same we are, than we are different.