The Olympics

I just love the Olympics! I blame my mom really. She loves the Olympics too and we watched them whenever they were on, summer or winter Olympics, it didn't matter. She taught me to enjoy the stories behind the athletes...heroic stories of their strength, their focus, their endurance, their perseverance, their triumphs, and their grace in defeat. I can honestly say that watching the Olympics has helped develop my own character, even if I never became on Olympian myself.

Watching the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was almost a spiritual experience for me. The opening ceremonies were extremely impressive with all the fireworks and technology. The choreography of the thousands of Chinese performers blew me away. What profoundly impacted me the most was the thought that at that moment, the entire world was celebrating together. All of our differences in culture, religion, and politics were set aside for a couple of hours and we were able to simply enjoy the fact that we are human beings. In that small moment, we treated each other like the brothers and sisters we really are. I loved to see the joy in the faces of the performers and the athletes as they each took their turn on the field. I felt uplifted and happy to be part of the greater human family. I feel more motivated to be kinder to everyone and to work harder at whatever task is before me.

I don't hesitate to proclaim that the Olympic Spirit is none other than the Spirit of the Lord.