May I always remain the person who talks to animals, collects random treasures, pauses for sunsets, picks wildflowers, and who doesn’t mind being a little weird.
Life becomes better and days become lighter when you focus more on appreciating little things and less on big worries. At some point you realise that peace is more important than trying to please others. Genuine people, happy heart and good health are real luxuries.
To fall asleep, you first pretend to be asleep. Life works the same way. You become by practicing. You grow by acting. Confidence comes after the first step. The version of you that you're becoming begins as something you choose to embody before it feels real.
Free agency is here and, right now, my TL is all LeBron, all day. Where's he going, what are the Warriors doing, etc. That's fine. He's LJ. I get it! But I'll tell you what I'm actually watching, and it isn't LJ and marquee guys. It's the OGs.
Don't get me wrong, I love this young NBA. These kids are so skilled it's almost unfair, and athletic in a way that's crazy. Different game now. A better one in a lot of ways, and I mean that.
Here's my thing, though. When I came into the league I didn't know anything, not really, and it was the vets who raised me. Guys like Ervin Johnson and Lindsey Hunter and Ray Allen taught me how to carry myself, how to be a pro on the nights nobody's watching. Taught me about money. Shoot, taught me about golf, about how to be a man. I needed that. Most of these young guys need it too, whether they know it yet or not.
So yeah. Harrison Barnes going back to San Antonio, that one was obvious. Russell Westbrook getting tied to DC? I love it for AJ Dybantsa and them. And if you've got a young roster you're trying to grow, you have to call a Khris Middleton or a Mike Conley. Get somebody in that locker room who's seen it, lived it, and can pass on that knowledge.
They can still give you minutes, sure. But that's not really why you sign them. You bring them in for the kid who's got all the talent in the world and no idea what to do with it yet. The vet pulls him aside when the coaches can't. Shows him the little things nobody teaches you in college. Shows him how to play the game, but also live the life.
Each one teach one. That's how it used to worked in the NBA. Let's make sure the young guys get that same guidance.
This is all I am going to write about CC. My latest Substack.
Engaging with it is draining. Ignoring it feels like surrender. Somewhere between those 2 choices is the uncomfortable realization that silence can begin to feel like complicity.
Read: https://t.co/rNqPz5IHCa
Give encouragement to those around you. Give kindness. Give good words to those you see and speak to. Give a bigger tip today. Give, and the love will return to you.
Take away all your temporary labels: race, nationality, religion, gender, age, etc, and what is left? Who are you behind all these changeable designations, the unseen, ever existing witness travelling from life to life in a dream.