Angels Around Us

The clues are all around us.

What clues?

All the answers to the things we complain about internally or externally or both.

The problem is not with our abilities, but with our awareness and our listening – oh, and the continuous message loop inside our heads telling us why we aren’t able to do that, why we aren’t – fill in the blank.

Instead, we blame everyone and everything. It’s more convenient than taking a hard look and making the changes that light up our hearts – we forget about the lighting up part and focus on change that is difficult on a good day for anyone.

But what happens when our awareness kicks in and we suddenly hear something that nudges us to take that next step?

Dennis Rodman, is to say the least, a controversial character. I’m betting most people just think he’s a crazy, but brilliant basketball player famous for his crazy lifestyle trips to North Korea and hair color changes.

Dennis was thrown out of his home at age 14. He lived on the street. If you know anything about this, or can let your imagination tackle this idea, you will realize how difficult this is – for anyone. At fourteen he had to find food and a place to sleep among all the most terrible conditions in a city. He became invisible instantly – maybe to himself too.

And there was a tiny clue wandering around waiting to come to his aid. He loved basketball and better than that, he was good at it. So he spent his time playing. He also managed to stay in school – one thing most fourteen-year-olds in his situation wouldn’t do.

One day, a scout noticed him playing. He saw the raw talent and managed to secure a scholarship to play in college.

If you ever get a chance to watch The Last Dance on Netflix, it might change your idea of who Dennis Rodman is.

He overcame his invisibility in a most dramatic way. He became a valued teammate and helped them win many times. And, yes, he is still flamboyant. You don’t have to agree with all of it. BUT… the clue was there and when someone helped him notice it, magic happened.

I picked this story because it is such a story of hope. If that spark can be found in the midst of such terrible conditions, then it can be found anywhere. It isn’t up to anyone, it’s up to each one of us to take a stand to see what is possible – especially when others are temporarily blinded to their own worth.

We are angels to each other. It is our responsibility to notice the sparks in ourselves and others and say them out loud until they kick into an awareness leading to action.

We are always at choice, but we might consider better choices like the choice to nurture ourselves after we fall flat on our faces instead of torturing ourselves that we got something wrong. We might consider helping someone starting something that the start is the bravest part and it doesn’t have to be perfect- in fact, it won’t be – ever.