JOYFUL PIECE #58

Olympic Joy

Night view of the 2024 Olympic cauldron, by Lgarron, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. ‡

For many years I was obsessed with winning. Watching the Olympiads was all about who won what event and the medal count.

With a longer view acquired through aging, I now like to look deeper, seeking universal values. This year I bought a subscription to a network that recorded all the different categories of events. But my focus was not on the fleeting euphoria of success, but on the subtle manifestation of being human and observing each athlete as untold hours of practice culminated in performances filled with grace, beauty, and comradeship.

Having competed throughout my life in many endeavors, including athletics, I have certainly appreciated and endorsed hard work focused on a goal. Now, I recognize that the joy found in athletics was not in the winning or medaling, but in the actual process of giving your best to the moment. I have had my share of triumphs and defeats, of successes and failures, of smiles and tears. But in reminiscing on past events, something that I increasingly do, I realize where the real reward was found on the performance itself. There is an inner glow in realizing that you have done your best which is longer lasting than the fleeting exuberance of a triumph.

So, in watching the 2024 Olympics, I focused on, and enjoyed, all events that allowed for the best expression of human feeling.

I try to live for joy, to live for life, allowing every moment to bring its own unique medal.

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