A Dose Of Colemanism: Mental Awareness

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By Caprice Coleman

I remember taking my vehicle to get a regularly scheduled oil change and needing a tire rotation. I didn’t think anything of it until a couple of weeks later I was needing a new set of tires.

After buying a brand new set of tires a couple of weeks later it was time for me to get another oil change (I was getting these frequently because during this time I was driving for Uber). My mechanic said I’d burned through these tires very fast and that I might have an alignment problem.

I asked him to check it, and sure enough I had an alignment problem. He later came to me and said I had bent the arm on an axle! Not only did I need an alignment, but I also needed the axle straightened.

I remember the look he gave me, like how could I have done this unbeknownst. I thought back and remembered backing up in a parking lot, and where a parking block once was, only the steel pipe remained, sticking out of the pavement. It was just tall enough to hit the axle arm in the right place.

I didn’t think anything of it because when I got out of the car my tires were fine and there was no visible damage from my point of view. However, when he showed me the damage with the car on a lift, I felt embarrassed that this had happened without me being aware.

I immediately thought of all the money I have wasted on tires when the issue was so much deeper. Tires didn’t even suffice as a Band-Aid. Tires were actually serving as my warning that something was wrong.

Some people may be traveling life’s journey with damage that they’re unaware of. It’s not always easy to see; things could look fine on the outside. The pandemic has damaged some people deeper than we think. There is an old saying: “Hurt people hurt people.” 

The sad thing is that some people are hurt and don’t know it, but others can see changes in their attitudes, personalities and everyday activities.

I challenge you to take a look inside yourself and others around you. Listen to people that interact with you on a daily basis. Are you constantly thinking someone has changed, wondering if they or you are OK?

If so, it might be worth looking into. Mental illnesses are real, and I believe they’re correctable if found early. 

Just something to think about. I call it a dose of Colemanism.

Caprice Coleman is ROH’s color analyst and has been wrestling for more than 20 years. He also is an ordained minister and motivational speaker. A Dose of Colemanism appears every Thursday

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