Your Own Olympic-Sized Dreams

Today we all get to embark upon what we’ve been waiting for, for four years—the Summer Olympics. And despite Mitt Romney’s strangely absurd remarks this morning, I think they are going to find it to be grand and filled with all the wonder we all are waiting for, especially in the swimming, track, and gymnastics this year.

            I can’t help but to think about why the Olympics, or any sport, is so important to us as viewers. Why do we get so wrapped up in the viewing and our team winning? Is it because we let a part of us be in the mix? Could it be possible that when a team member from Podunk, USA wins a gold, it somehow means that we are winning a gold, or that we also have a chance at winning a gold medal in our minds? I think so.

            There is a saying that when one monkey achieves something on one island, all the monkeys on every other island achieve it as well. The simple fact of one person overcoming obstacles, liberates the whole. It’s a fact!

            So, when you challenge yourself at the gym this week to lose that 15 lbs you’ve been wanting to lose for 3 years or quit smoking or stop yelling at every slow driver on your way to work, you actually are changing the fabric of the universe. You have no idea who you will touch in your quest to be a better person.

            So, when a young woman of 16 years of age leaps up on to the 4-inch balance beam to do amazing feats like full twisting back flips and one-footed leaps with the other foot touching her head from the back and landing back on the beam with that same one foot with perfect balance, we know that we are part of her own spirit helping her to stay on that beam. We can feel our bodies twitching in our seats to keep her steady. We even feel a sense of concentration. We become one with so many people feeling the same thing at the same time. It’s almost mesmerizing.

            This is the perfect connection and power we feel when we watch sports. Yes, it’s exciting and wonderful. But it’s also as spiritual as it is physical. When you get that many people wishing for one thing at the same time, magic happens. The Olympics are magic because we are focused together on one thing. Imagine if that one thing were something like changing the world for the better, what we could do for the world.