WEDNESDAY COMMENTARY – KARMA’S REAL
(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 & Rock 98.5 FM)
The wild ride that is my life continued on Tuesday as I found myself standing in the middle of the locker room of the Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs football team in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Chiefs coach Matt Dubuc (a CFL receiver with Toronto and Winnipeg in the 1990s) invited me to address his team in advance of this week’s Florida High School Metro Semifinal against their nemesis, American Heritage on Friday night.
Matt knows my story, but I cautioned him that I’m not a coach. (Although in retrospect it dawned on me that in fact I am, in the field of Mental Strength, Mental Health and Addiction Recovery).
He said that’s okay, and that he knows I’ve overcome every obstacle life’s thrown my way and come out a winner.
Dubuc said he wanted his kids to learn about “real life”.
My specialty.
In a way I feel a little sheepish in these presentations, because all I’m doing is repeating the advice my Dad gave me while growing up on the farm.
Truth is, if I’d just listened to Jim Pedersen a whole lot earlier, I wouldn’t have found myself in all these snafus over the years.
Oh well, there’s no going back now.
Anyway, of course I passed along my Dad’s wisdom of “emptying your tank everyday” and giving your all in absolutely everything you do and that way, you can live without the regret of knowing you could’ve done more.
But I’ve learned a ton on my own over the years too, and I passed it along to the players. Like the fact that when someone opens a door for you, you need to walk through it. Don’t be ashamed, shy, or think that you don’t have anything to offer.
That’s why I accepted Coach Dubuc’s invitation to talk to his team. It’s an honour they don’t hand out often.
I also passed along the tidbit that you see the same people on the way up as you do on the way down. Karma’s real and you’d better pray you’ve lived your life on the right side of it. Your life circumstances are of your own making. Always.
In the short time I’ve been here, South Florida’s been great to me and I felt the need to put something back into the community which has already given me so much. It’s okay to take, but you’d better be darned sure you’re giving too.
Pay it forward.
That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary
(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV and WQEE Radio. Call your cable provider to subscribe. You can also watch on YouTube Live and listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)
Karma is very real and that’s a superb message. The kids also know who the real deals are. Yet some just have to go through what they have to go through and learn the hard lessons. This is so true; “Your life circumstances are of your own making. Always.” Yet….they are not being taught that and certainly not in Regina/Saskatchewan. They’re taught that because 150 years ago they’re Grandparents had a bad day at school it means there is a built in excuse and we’ve seen this over and over and over and over. Here are some universal truths: Life… Read more »
Way to go Rod! Those kids were very fortunate to hear your words of wisdom.
and around here kids would say why do I have to listen? The city council will jack the millrate 21% to put them in free housing. Nope, you’ve heard me say many times. Opiod crises, freezing temps, and a global are not a bad thing – sometimes the herd just needs to be thinned through mother nature’s natural selection. Don Miguel Ruiz has a great book called The Four Agreements: Be impecable with your word Don’t take things personal Don’t make assumptions Always try your best Past that the world is not all sunshines and rainbows. It’s a cold place… Read more »