Monday; February 9

By now, the Winter Olympic Games are well underway.  Some medals have been awarded and others will come later in the week.  I never really grew up around winter sports, so I was kind of intrigued by the events that went on where people actually had enough snow and ice to incorporate them into competitions.  About the only race we had in the winter was trying to get off the thin ice before it cracked!

Even though I don’t know a lot of the complexities of the events (like curling or skimo), I do know that it takes something special to be an elite athlete on the world stage.  Yet, to me, the greatest part of the show is being an Olympian – a team member, a representative of your nation and a participant with other world class athletes.  Winning a medal is incredible, but competing with the world’s best on an international stage is not bad either.  The problems with the Olympics tend to arise when winning comes before sportsmanship and camaraderie.

Life is a lot like the Winter Games.  Sure there are going to be a few people who make it to the top, but most of us will make our mark as those “who competed”.  There is nothing wrong with being an average participant, so long as we keep our focus on the grandeur of life and not the greatness of winning.  Let’s be willing to play together – and even compete with each other – but at the end of the day, let’s display a spirit of good sportsmanship, unity and camaraderie or, as this Olympic motto puts it, “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together”.

Think About It!