These are days of chaos, confusion, and harsh words. So many divisions. Dividers, too. But we also live in days of champions. You just have to know where to look.
Who are they? (Sorry, L.A. Dodgers, we’re not that impressed.) Real champions, the kind that do impress, are quiet, unassuming, not showy. You have to look for them.
I discovered some a few weeks ago at a conference I attended in Minneapolis called “Care-Con 2025.” The simple label for these champions is “caregivers.” People caring for loved ones experiencing serious need. Cancer. Dementia. Disease. Disability. Grief. The kind of things people rarely want to talk about, but daily realities in so many lives.
That day I also met many people who actively support caregivers. They work at places with names like the Normandale Center for Healing and Wholeness; Jack’s Caregiver Coalition; Colon Cancer Coalition; the Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing; The Negative Space; , the Masonic Cancer Center; Blood Cancer United; and AARP. I think they’re champions, too.
Fred Rogers said it best and most succinctly. “Help the helpers.” These people are all helpers. It felt good just being in the same room with them. I wonder why Fred didn’t say, “be the helpers.” Maybe he knew that by supporting people on the front lines of caring, we’ll get inspired ourselves.
Inspired to be real champions, too. Not a bad idea. These days we need all of the ones we can get.
