Feeling Olympic?

Yes, I must admit, I love watching the Olympics. It is the only time once every four years when I become an expert on swimming particular distances in particular styles and what times to expect from the best of the best. 

It is the only time I can say I give my full attention to the fastest people in the world or the ones who can jump the highest over a stick with the assistance of another stick. 

I am reminded of my 5th grade year, when we had our own Olympics of sorts, involving academia and field events. We were also awarded medals with the ever coveted glitter glue upon them, causing them to glisten with glory as we moved them back and forth, watching them twinkle in the light. 

Gold glitter glue. Did it get any better than that?

And now we are adults, with a great deal of experience, but how much Olympic hope? 

I run races, but only for fun and fitness, I will never win. I learn a lot and I gain a lot. But I will never be first place. I will never "win gold". 

So what then are my Olympics?

A photo of myself after I finished my first Marathon a year and a half ago.

I love watching and learning all of the stories of the athletes. Their struggles, their triumphs, their injuries, their training and seeing their families in the stands; watching their lives come to this point where the training must pay off.  

What is it that we are willing to work for?

What are we willing to put in the time for?

What are we willing to make sacrifices for and take risks for?

I suppose it is easier to not take any risks at all, but will we be satisfied with always wondering what could have been?

Most athletes when challenged with the question from reporters, 'What was going through your mind out there? When you just accomplished that world record or gold medal?' Usually they all say the same thing along the lines of, ' I just went out there and did my best. I left it all out there. ' 

The hours had been put in at that point. The sacrifices had been made. Their moment came and there was nothing left to do but to do it, to leave it all out there. They weren't saving it for any other time, this is the Olympics for crying out loud!

They give us a small glimpse in those few minutes of biography that NBC so kindly puts together to wrench our hearts and to show us the athletes journey. They show us some of the ups and the downs and the trainings and the other competitions that led to this day. 

But we will never be with them at 4 in the morning when they wake up to begin their training routine. 

That is all them. 

Alone. 

Alone they decide they will not hit snooze.

That this is important enough to engage in and to pour themselves into each day. 

I can't help but be inspired.

Recently, I've been feeling a bit run down, less inspired than normal. My energy has been lower and I have been pushing myself too hard. Taking a break is natural to be re-energized. There is nothing wrong with it and I am the first person to admit that I am the last person to realize I need a break! 

Still, with this ebb and flow of physical energy, I am inspired and encouraged that it is worth it to live the beautiful, uncommon lives we long for inside. 

I will dream my crazy and glorious dreams. I will go through the joy and the fear and the struggle to make my art. I will. It is a verb. It means that you will. That your will (internal) meets up with your will (in the physical) for the thing that you dream to occur. To begin happening and to come into being. 

So, if nurturing your art is like watching over a garden, maybe you miss one day of weeding, but you get back in there the next day... just like an Olympian Gardener, tending to the art inside of you. Yes, I love analogies. 

Some questions to ponder....

What are my Olympics?

do I have Olympic hope?

Do I have the resolve to do something about it all?

What do I need to nurture in myself?

Maybe it is nurturing a sense of self-confidence before I nurture my art or before I can figure out what it is?

Maybe I need to nurture and grow in my self-discipline?

Maybe I need to take care of my health before I can move forward in my dreams?

Imagine if the NBC producers were making a short bio of you before your big moment, to get the crowd engaged in your story and cheering for you... what would it look like? Does that thought inspire you?