The gift of gratitude

“Anger, hatred, violence; they’re really all just fear.” – “The Peaceful Warrior”

The season is not over. And it shouldn’t be.

We’ve received many gifts, and, technically, Christmas ends on the feast of the Epiphany. But while we’re throwing away all the wrappers and finding ways to recycle the gifts we don’t like, what is the value of the gifts we’ve received?

I always said I had the best job in the world. Every day, no matter how hard things get, I thank God for the beauty, the elegance, the purity of sports.

This is a world that, at first, seemed harsh to me, as a frail, sickly little kid who had asthma, migraines, scoliosis, flat feet, the whole deal. But, bottom line, you get back what you give to it. Bottom line, what you put in returns to you.

I thank God for the transformative power of sport, of anything you set your mind and heart to. It’s not necessarily better or worse than any other field, but man, I love it. It has changed my life, my family’s and my sons’ lives for the better. I remember when my younger son, Daniel, first started playing for real just five short years ago at the age of 12, he couldn’t sink a lay-up to save his life, and I had to encourage him that it was just a rite of passage, that with more effort and dedication, he would get there. In six months, he was raining three-pointers on me and my adult teammates. Now, he hovers over six feet tall and is team captain of his high school basketball team. That’s a very real gift that sports has given to me.

I thank God for what it has also done for my older son, Vincent, who inherited many of my congenital illnesses. Now a sturdy, ruggedly handsome college freshman and a member of the Ateneo Blue Eagles’ B team, he is finding his way in the world. Sports provided a safe place, a laboratory where they learned the real-life equation that 1 + 1 can equal 3. He has overshot his required grade point average by a healthy mile, and has found a drive and a sense of direction from the discipline he learned from sports. Luckily for me, out of all the sports in the world they’ve been exposed to, they chose basketball, the sport that saved my life.

I thank God for all the coaches who were there for my son, for me, and all other kids with a dream. Their patience and devotion to the game, their selflessness, and yes, even their issues, have opened my kids’ eyes to how the world works. Through them, my boys learned that defense never takes a day off, the game can come to you, and you can make up for your mistakes. Life can sometimes be harsh, but when you think about it, it is always fair.

I thank God for guiding me through the major changes in my life, and give thanks for everyone in my life, then, now and in the future. Even those who sat in judgment of me, my actions and my person, I thank them.

Those who were offended or simply don’t like me or whatever it is I stand for, thanks, all those who stood in my way, showed prejudice, tried to hold me back, thank you.

For those who criticized, showed harshness, resentment for me, my friends, on Hardball, anything I’ve written, thank you. You showed me that the world is bigger than the small confines of a TV show, event, project, essay or anything we hold of value. Thank you for teaching me how to let go, and let God.

For all the people I’ve helped, given work to, promoted, and served, thank you for the opportunity. The open doors showed me how vast and rich the world is, and that we all deserve to have what we want in life, if we work for it. And for the friends who stood by me during crises, many thanks. For the staff of St. Luke’s Medical Center, thank you for saving my Mom twice this year. There are no words which fit. To all our sponsors, advertisers, benefactors, bosses, thank you for the trust.

To all the athletes who have been an inspiration and an example of what is best -–and sometimes worst – in people, thank you. You are – intentionally or not – teachers by risking yourselves and putting it all out there. As Charles Barkley said, you are not role models. But you are very human models. I salute you. You have given us a very colorful, interesting world to live and make a living and make a life in.

One thing I’ve learned this year is that everything I go through leads me to where I am, especially this year. Every time I get into my car, I remember what Jack Canfield once taught. You can drive from New York to California seeing only as far as what your headlights show you. But you know you can make it there. There is no guarantee, and you can’t see all the way there. But with faith, you’ll go as far as you need to.

To the future, thank you. Not knowing what happens next can also be a great place to be. When you look back, you wonder how you got where you are.

Wow. Happy New Year.