I went to an early mass at our parish, St. John the Baptist in Hillsdale, NJ, and I am always interested and intrigued to what our pastor, Monsignor Peter Smutelovic, has in store for his homily. This week he talked a great deal about the faith that athletes exhibit, particularly the infectious enthisiasm Indana quarterback Fernando Mendoza weaved his messages without being condescending in any way to those of different faiths. He wore it proudly. It was interesting to hear, especially when the “Thank God and Jesus” comments from athletes sometimes get lost in the hype and white noise of athletic events.
However, it was not exactly that part of his homily that struck me as pertinent…it was another part, where he talked about the life we lead every week of Certainty and Mystery we have around us all the time.
What did he mean? Pretty simple…when we look back on the impact we have had, it’s usually pretty clear the things we did, the people we touched, the impact we probably had immediately. We know what the scope of work professionally and personally looks like. What is mysterious to us is what lies ahead, because no matter how we plan, those impactful bumps, those changes of course and how we react to them is what helps really shape us. Like the unwritten resume, the unplanned journey down a road, and the faith to take that road that is choosing us, can be our biggest challenge. Do we know if Fernando Mendoza’s light will shine bright down the road? No. We think it will, but any time we take the human condition into a situation we can never know for sure.
I thought about the impact of certainty and mystery a lot in recently as I talk to young job seekers who have more of a sense of lonliness and desperation than ever before. What if I make a mistake, what if the internship doesn’t work out? What if I’m not in the right class or I take a wrong turn? Well…what if you don’;t ‘t try. Paralysis by overthinking is worse than trying. If you fail, you regroup, you learn and you move on, but you have the experience to look back to and the faith to know you tried.
I have taken many, sometime too many leaps of faith professionally and what I have found is that if you are open to looking for what the universe is telling you in a situation, if you are OK with being drawn to a place that could contain light, your discovery…your “why” surfces, even in small instances. That “why” what drives us forward. The mystery of not being in cotrol of everything remained, but it didnt deter us.
Then there is Kobe Bryant. Somewhat lost to history was the time young Kobe spent in and around the Sixers offices in the basement of Veterans Stadium and on the practice court at the fieldhouse at St. Joseph’s University during our three seasons in Philadelphia, a time which ended when the new ownership decided we didn;t fit, largely for reasons beyond our control (there is the mystery again). The Sixers coaching and front office staff had an impact on young Kobe’s career choices at that point, and while cellphone cameras were not really a thing in the period of the ‘90’s, the mental images of Kobe sitting around the desks in our offices, even getting ready to go to his senior prom, were memories I and many others will always have. Kobe was a person who never forgot his roots, and in our chance passings over the years, he was always cordial, friendly and engaged. The last time I saw him in person for a few minutes was actually at the US Open, where he was promoting his new children’s book. We talked very briefly while his group hustled him off to his next spot. Six years ago he was on his way to do what he loved with people he loved, when mystery interceded and changed the path of so many. Soul crushing was the way a friend recently described it. He had so much ahead, and the mystery of that road loomed large.
Kobe Bryant’s passing bookended a month where another tied to basketball, leadership and vision also landed in that thought of mystery. The month began with the passing, suddenly, of former Commissioner David Stern. As I have mentioned before, I was lucky enough to have spent some amazing time listening and learning from the former Comish during his second act, and those moments, given his sudden passing, were also ones that I treasure from the journey. His impact was certain, and it remains so. The mystery of unplanned loss dislodging plans is, as we know, beyond our grasp sometimes.
However, there is a way that certainty and mystery intertwine, and in many cases, I believe it holds great value, value which we can all take to heart. If we make the effort to be certain of our intent, of our work, of doing little things to help people, of working together, of spreading joy and positivity, then the mystery of what lies ahead maybe becomes easier to bear. You take a path, you build a legacy, you assist others, and the mystery of why we did things on our certain path maybe is clearer to those around us.
David Stern, Kobe Bryant and even Fernando Mendoza . The mystery is what’s next for us, and how we can take those lessons and forge the best road possible. Impact beyond a game driven by the faith they had, and have, in those around them.
Darnold, Elway, Point Guards and Revisiting “The Four C’s”