Ramblings on Life and Farmer Turned Football Players

Life. What is the point of it exactly? I often ask myself this question. It’s really a rather tricky question to answer, perhaps even unanswerable. However, Jason Brown, a former NFL football player seems to have found a purpose for his life.

This morning, I went into the living room to find the TV on. My dad had been watching Sunday Morning on CBS as he often does, so I sat down for a second to watch a little bit. A story came on about a football player (here’s a link). Normally I would tune out at this point, but the story held my interest. Jason Brown was a center for the St. Louis Rams and had a five-year, $37 million contract with them, yet he decided to turn away from football and pursue something greater. As Brown says,

“When I think about a life of greatness, I think about a life of service.”

Jason Brown with his crops.

Brown left a career in football that was sure to bring him all the things that many people look for in life- fame and fortune- to be a farmer. His farm is called “First Fruits Farm,” and not only is he a farmer, but he gives away the first fruits of every harvest to local food pantries. Brown didn’t even know how to farm when he first began so he learned along the way from YouTube and his neighbors.

I’m not trying to say that all football players should quit playing football to become farmers. However, I think what Brown did was very admirable. I think that a lot of people don’t have the courage to take risks such as leaving their career for something more fulfilling. People often stick to the job they have because it provides stability in their life. But what is stability when you can’t find purpose and fulfillment in what you’re doing?

I know I probably sound like a naïve little teenager, thinking that everyone should just quit their job that provides money for their family, and maybe I am, but people need to do things that bring them real happiness. For Brown, it’s service. Perhaps for you, it’s art, or music, or teaching others, or sports or traveling. Ideally we would all be able to pursue a career that brings true contentment to us, but maybe the first step is finding those things outside of work and school. Spend a little less time on your phone, or the couch, and a little more time out in the world, doing things for others or even  things for yourself that bring you true happiness.