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Tag Archives: Olympics

Who Are the Winners?

19 Monday Feb 2018

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hopes, inner light, joy, Olympics, opportunity, pride, represent, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, winning

Pyeongchang Olympics Cross Country WomenI just read an article from Sports Illustrated that made me sad and angry at the same time. The gist of the article was the “poor showing” of the American athletes at the Olympics in the medal count. As I read, I had beautiful images before me of young men and women who all spoke of being thrilled at the opportunity to represent their country at this incredible event. Did they all hope for good outcome for themselves and their teammates? Of course! And were some expected to do better than they did? Certainly. But the faces that I saw most clearly were like those in one of the commercials about a small town in Ohio (I think) whose entire populace got up at 3:00AM to come together to watch the ladies cross-county skiing relay because one of their “own” was racing. There was a good chance that this four-person team would medal – even get the gold – but it was not to be. I watched the race, likely because of that commercial and the closeness of that community, feeling that I too was involved in their hopes. Their hometown heroine was first to race and did not perform as hoped. I believe the team came in fifth (ironically the position most denigrated in the article). What was obvious to me at the end of the race was the joy of those four in each other – no tears of regret or blame, no frowns, no grimaces – just clear pride in their country and their knowledge that each of them had done the best they could on that day in that race. And the memory of a moment in their lives when they had made America proud, medal or not.

As I noted above, the article was very outspoken about the number of our athletes who had finished fifth in their events. I wonder if the author might ever be considered the fifth best sports writer in the entire world and have some concept of how much work and energy would have to accompany that achievement. It seems we have not done a good enough job in some cases in teaching our youth that “it isn’t whether you win or lose but how you play the game.”

Sadness overcomes the anger now to think that we are more concerned with winning than with the way we comport ourselves. It is a hazard, I know, of living in the United States where there are so many ways in which we are privileged. It is my hope, however, that we never lose sight of what is best in us. I see it shine in that inner light that is so prevalent in our athletes this week as they do their best and know that it is always enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Imagine…

10 Saturday Feb 2018

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at one, Imagine, Korea, Olympics, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

akoreanolympicsLast night watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics I felt the tiniest flicker of possibility. The enthusiasm on the beautiful young faces of the Korean delegation as they entered the stadium with their jackets just announcing KOREA made it impossible to find something separative about anyone. The cheers at their entrance by athletes from around the entire world, the beauty of the art installations, the wonder of the technological wizardry – so much made it possible to set aside any sense of politics. I was struck most of all by the human creation of doves of peace while Koreans sang John Lennon’s anthem “Imagine” in English.

Perhaps that is the lesson for today. If we can imagine what a world “at one” would look like, perhaps we can bring it to reality. I believe I will stop now, put on the music, and bring my version of that world into being. Join me if you will…

 

 

 

 

 

Silence

22 Monday Aug 2016

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clamor, election, invitation, love, noise, Olympics, phenomenon, present, quietness, Robert Sardello, silence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

asilenceNow that the Olympics are over I will have to find that good “brotherly [& sisterly] love” feeling in another way. I doubt I will find it on television where political messages will be flooding the airwaves in earnest for the next few months. I will be worrying about that, having just read an article about how many people now take in what they hear without reflecting on the validity of the message. Some wild claims will be made that ought to be followed up with references but probably won’t. As I finished the article, my eyes fell (honestly!) on the book Silence by Robert Sardello, which I picked up looking for solace. I read the following that is for me a good reason to return to silence as often as possible today to find out what I’m thinking, where it comes from, and how I feel about it. Just maybe it will also allow me to come back to trusting in a deeper way that God is in charge of the world.

Our choosing to live in the noise of our thoughts and emotions – within the incessant clamor around us – happens almost without our recognition…[Silence] does not go with our hectic lives, with what must be done every day, and with our felt need to accomplish something…But Silence was here before anything else, and it envelops everything else. It is the most primary phenomenon of existence, both palpably something and seemingly nothing. Silence is prior to sound, not the cessation of sound. It is already present. If we drop into quietness for just a moment, we feel the presence of Silence as an invitation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope for the World

14 Sunday Aug 2016

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babies, baby boomers, climate change, family, Fiona Mitchell, gratitude, Meg Wheatley, next generation, Olympics, planet, sports, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Turning To One Another, winning, world community

aplantLast night again I stayed up late watching amazing young people engage in sports. And again I was heartened to hear them tell not only of their joy at winning medals but also of their gratitude for the support of their teams, their coaches and all others who have supported them in their efforts. They also spoke of the privilege of representing their country at the Olympics – just being there, in such a “world community” as indescribable. In the face of all the negative events swirling around us daily in the news and in our neighborhoods, it is helpful to experience the worldwide cooperation that is evident in the contests in Rio.

While speaking of climate change and the devastation of earth that is part of the “downside” of life in our world these days, Meg Wheatley quoted a 22-year old college student in England who reminded me of the common spirit of the athletes when she spoke about our responsibility to the environment. This young woman, Fiona Mitchell, says:

I’d love to be able to just get on with my life and just enjoy it and do the things I want to do…And it’s really annoying that you can’t get on with your life because the planet is being destroyed. But I, personally, can’t just ignore it, because it’s a part of me. It’s  part of all of us, you know. I think a lot of people don’t see the connections between things, the connections that run through everything. We have to take care of everything, because it’s all part of the same thing. (Turning to One Another, p. 109)

In all of this, I think too of my extended family, gathered this weekend for a 60th birthday celebration of one of the “old folks” – my generation. It’s always a profound joy to see “the kids” (now in their 20s and 30s) who have morphed into such amazing and interesting adults, having also chosen wonderful partners for their life-walk. Whether I am present or just vicariously living these events by telephone, I am moved to hope for the world, just as I have been this week at the Olympics and in England by Fiona Mitchell. The next generations have much to do to keep the world turning (as, by the way, so do those of us “baby boomers” still walking around) but perhaps with our support wonderful things lie in store for the beautiful babies being born right now. May we all hold this intention and determination in our hearts as we open ourselves to a new day and week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Olympic Messages

12 Friday Aug 2016

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alike, competition, cooperation, dedication, difference, discipline, Human Family, Maya Angelou, Olympics, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unalike

Rio Olympics Artistic Gymnastics Women

I’ve been watching as much of the Olympics on television as I can stay awake for because I am overwhelmed by the dedication and discipline of so many young people from all over the world. (The oldest competitors are considered “old” if they are over 35 years old, a birthday I have not seen in a very long time!) The television coverage is helpful, too, with brief segments that allow us to see these athletes as people of different backgrounds who have families and struggles and favorite things like ice cream…so that the sport that drives them does not consume them. I’m sure there are those who cannot bear to lose but one of the advantages of participating in a team is learning that old lesson that “it isn’t whether you win or lose but how you play the game.” All of this leads to the conclusion that working together in cooperation – even with a healthy spirit of competition – is possible and desirable among the nations of the world.

Every so often in the evening coverage there is a break that does not advertise any product but rather shows pictures of people. The text is read by a person whose voice sounded familiar and when I finally was sure it was Maya Angelou, speaking truth from beyond the grave, I looked up a line and, sure enough, it was her poem that she was reading, called Human Family. I will write it here as I hear it each evening rather than in the poetic form to illustrate what I have tried to indicate above – that is, the reality that needs so desperately to permeate the consciousness of the planet at the present time.

I note the obvious differences in the human family. Some of us are serious, some thrive on comedy. Some declare their lives are lived as true profundity, and others claim they really live the real reality. The variety of our skin tones can confuse, bemuse, delight, brown and pink and beige and purple, tan and blue and white. I’ve sailed upon the seven seas and stopped in every land. I’ve seen the wonders of the world not yet one common man. I know ten thousand women called Jane and Mary Jane, but I’ve not seen any two who really were the same. Mirror twins are different although their features jibe, and lovers think quite different thoughts while lying side by side. We love and lose in China, we weep on England’s moors, and laugh and moan in Guinea, and thrive on Spanish shores. We seek success in Finland, are born and die in Maine. In minor ways we differ, in major we’re the same. I note the obvious differences between each sort and type, but we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike. We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.

May our prayer always take the form of a striving to understand this truth: that we are more alike than unalike.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.7 Seconds

09 Tuesday Aug 2016

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competitors, dedication, doing, every sport is a head sport, focus, meditation, Olympics, spiritual practice, sync, talking, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

adiversI’m thinking this morning about something I heard last night while watching the Olympic men’s synchronized diving competition. One of the commentators mentioned that the dive just completed had taken 2.7 seconds to execute. Yes, that dive from a height of 30 meters that included at least two – or probably three – somersaults and maybe a twist before reaching and knifing through the water head first in a vertical position that caused very little splash took less than three seconds. Oh, and it was done by two men whose movements mirrored one another nearly – if not totally – perfectly.

As I reflect on all the things that could possibly happen to throw the two men “out of sync” during those 2.7 seconds, I wonder at their determination and willingness to continue to practice that dive over and over again, sometimes for years, to win a medal at the Olympics. Most of the competitors are young and some of them are reduced to tears whether they find they have won or lost, because of their work, of course, but also because of their dedication to their sport and the support of those who have cheered them on over the years. I learned a long time ago that “every sport is a head sport” because if the competitor’s mind is not engaged and focused before, during and after the event, there is no chance that her/his body will cooperate at the crucial moment.

Thinking about this causes me to wonder why I spend more time talking about the need for more mindful spiritual practice on the part of people who understand the benefit of such activity both personally and for the raising of world consciousness to higher good than I spend on actually doing the practices. What a wake-up call! I bow this morning to the athletes as I move to my mat for meditation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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