This story was excerpted from John Denton's Cardinals Beat newsletter. The lead item in this version was handled by MLB.com's Julia Kreuz. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

TORONTO -- Look at adversity from the right angle and you’ll find it comes bearing gifts.

The Cardinals (74-75) needed that reminder this weekend after being swept by the Blue Jays to drop under .500 as their postseason hopes took another blow. Kyle Gibson enlisted the help of a friend in Toronto.

St. Louis players and the coaching staff huddled in the visitors' clubhouse at Rogers Centre on Saturday to chat with Spencer Miller -- an actor, sportscaster and motivational speaker who’s turned his disability into lessons in joy and gratitude. Opening up about the challenges of living with cerebral palsy was just the start of a talk that breathed renewed appreciation into the Cardinals’ clubhouse.

“Spencer doesn't want anybody feeling sorry for him, but he does like to motivate people with how he lives life and how he goes about his daily grind,” said Gibson, who met Miller last year during his time with the Orioles. “And he understands that we go through the same thing for a long season."

Miller’s obstacles are clearly different from those of an athlete, but the essence of his message is universal: How you face your challenges goes a long way in shaping who you are. In that sense, his personal story becomes a starting point for a light-hearted and humor-filled talk about life, goals and adversity.

More than 25 years of work has led Miller to connect with people and organizations in different sports across North America, including stars like David Ortiz and Ken Griffey Jr.

The full contents of the chat with the Cards will stay within that group, but Miller’s message was clear.

“You are a Major League Baseball player for a reason,” Miller said, dressed in Cardinals gear during batting practice. “It doesn't matter how thin your chances are right now, realize that you guys are here for the same goal, and that is to finish out this season as strong as possible. As long as you do that, if you come up short, nobody can blame you for that."

It can get easier to lose the present moment when there’s not much left to play for. But this isn’t about what comes next. It’s about cherishing the now.

“He tried to tell us that we’re very blessed to be here, and to take advantage of the moments,” said closer Ryan Helsley. “Just to enjoy it, because it’s not going to last forever.”

In the end, this was, at once, a personal and collective experience.

More than levity and a piercing call to action, Miller also brought a heartwarming reminder to the Cardinals: Be there for one another.

“I ended my speech talking about how everybody in life has some level of depression that they go through,” said Miller. “And it is important to surround yourself with people that you can just laugh and have a good time with. When you're in the ballpark, or even away from the ballpark, when you have that common thread and the bond on a human level … you can acknowledge those moments of depression, but realize also that you have great people around you that also go through it on their own level.”

One word came up a lot after Miller’s talk.

“Perspective is always important,” said manager Oliver Marmol. “At different points in the year, it hits a certain way. … But it’s always nice to put things in perspective.”

With perspective comes choice -- another one of adversity’s many gifts.

“It's easy to think about our own struggles and allow them to dictate how our attitude is that day or the next day, or the next day even,” said Gibson. “And I've never seen that on [Miller]. I've never seen him allow a bad day to carry to a next one. … That's just pretty inspirational."