Our friend & partner “Dr Mike” sent me a comment similar to this one yesterday, & I thought it was pretty profound.
I don’t take it lightly when multiple similar/related things happen to me &/or fall in my lap, in & arnd the same time. Seems to be a msg that the universe is trying to get across.
So I get that text from Mike, & the same day I finally meet up w @ryanphillips888 (who’s in town visiting from Canada). Ryan, his friend Cielo & I are all hockey heads…& we love & respect @theofleury14 for all the work he’s done – not on the ice, but as an advocate in the space of trauma, addiction, MH, & sexual abuse.
The convo turns to: how in the world is this man NOT in the Hockey Hall of Fame? He’s won a title at literally every level – minors to Olympics to a Stanley Cup, played in over 1,000 NHL games, scored over 1,000 pts, is top 60ish ALL TIME in pts scored. The stats are unquestionably there.
But this is where the judgment comes in. Theo drank, drugged, sexed, gambled, his way thru the trauma pain from his past, during in his NHL career. Didn’t exactly make him a favorite in his playing days, w some league execs, some team execs, reporters, definitely opposing fans.
We have ALL judged folks like that, for their behavior. But we don’t always know what’s behind the behavior. In Theo’s case – being raped over 150 times by his male coach – who was his only chance “one way ticket to the NHL,” – knowing he couldn’t speak abt it. That’s right – the very sport he’s getting shunned in the Hall for, was the very source of his trauma & then vices/behavior.
But Theo is a light now for so many in the MH space. Just like so many of you are a light for others (whether to a group or a single individual). And when you put your “stuff” out there, others often judge your “darkness” where your light now comes from…the perspective you’ve gained to see the world differently & help others.
It may suck – but your light shines brighter than any darkness anyone judging you can throw. Theo’s light of how he helps ppl is brighter today than any shade of being shunned by the Hall. Don’t let judgment stop you from sharing.
