Trust the In Between
It is said parenting provides the wonder years, yet ask any parent of an infant and they will say its the most challenging task to keep up with a child’s adventurous mind.
It is also said marriage holds the keys to life’s greatest joy through companionship, yet ask any spouse and they will claim the strain to maintain stability within two people’s ever-changing wellbeing.
These two examples are a couple of many - We’ve all heard the cliché: this life is a tug-of-war between beauty and pain. In the sound of a rhythmic drum, one always follows the other.
I find the professional soccer life to be such a privilege. I recognize with immense gratitude the opportunity to travel the world, meet incredible people and learn further depths of myself. In addition, this career continually provides the most complex difficulties I’ve ever faced. The paradox of goodness from pain is hummed among every training, game and experience.
This is particularly why I love football: while it is packaged as a children’s game, it has always offered the most elaborate life lessons.
Solely checking in with my physical body is not sufficient; I must access spiritual and emotional parts of myself in order to experience freedom on the pitch.
Now, what do we see within spirituality and emotions? Vulnerability. Yes, I said it, I find soccer immensely vulnerable. In the best way, the field can humble you in an instant then provide a complete glorious moment to follow. A player that accepts this reality is a force to be reckoned with.
I have yet to master this pendulum but I can tell you what I see in the players that teeter on both sides of failure and success peacefully: self-assurance.
I have been gifted to cross paths with a few of these players and the most visible difference is their aura of confidence. You watch the way they play the game with a lightweight, dreamlike flow. They do not fear the repercussions of a mistake because they understand its purpose of refinement.
In my amateur years, I learned how to carry the distinguished power of reframing failures into success on the field - in the professional realm my toolkit is under development. With understanding that I once held the peace firmly, I am confident it will be found again.
