Unity Can Be Achieved - The Olympics Lesson

The Olympics are winding down. Today (Saturday) is the last full day of competition, and tomorrow (Sunday) will be the final competitions and the closing ceremonies. I have to declare the Paris Olympics as a rousing success. It was beautifully planned and executed, and the volunteers (in the 1000's) did an extraordinary job of their tasks - whatever those tasks were. 

It's been an outstanding Olympics in Paris. The venues are 
packed with spectators (a nice change from Tokyo's COVID 
Olympics), and the athletes are totally stoked for their 
events. It's been a lot of fun! 

The Parisian community welcomed the visitors from across the globe with open arms, sharing their venues and their history/culture with all. It was an absolute joy to see horses being ridden in the gardens of Versailles, and medal ceremonies in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. Thank you, Paris. You did an outstanding job hosting these Olympics and I can hardly wait for the Parolympics in a few short weeks (August 28 - September 8). I won't be able to see all of these events (Sharon and I will be at the State Fair for parts of it), but I'll watch what I can. 

I'm going a bit larger with this graphic. I've really enjoyed 
the pictographs of each event - carefully thought out, 
beautifully balanced, and sensible. I thought you might 
enjoy looking at the grouping of them. 

So why do we get so caught up in the Olympics as opposed to local, regional or national sporting events? I don't think it's just because our national pride is on the line. I think it's because the competition is just that - a competition that's world-wide, gathered into a single location, and coming down to a single, penultimate event. (Whoot! I don't often have reason to use the work penultimate - go me - LOL!) It's not the best in the region or the best in the nation, it's the best in the world. So when we cheer for our nation, we're putting aside our moral, political and religious differences and joining as a single unit to support athletes in an event. If they win, we cheer. If they lose, we feel sad (it's not quite requiring true mourning, after all). And through it all, we can feel pride for our nation - bandages, attitudes, and all. We cover our suppurating sores of internal strife with patriotic bandages, and cheer on the children of our hope. 

I'm also looking forward to the Paris Paralympics starting 
later this month. It will intersect with Sharon's visit, so I 
won't be glued to the TV, but I'm sure I'll catch whatever 
I can on my computer, the TV, or my phone. It's always 
amazingly good competition and exciting to watch. 

I do hope you've had an opportunity to catch some of the Olympics. DH and I adore sports, so it was a natural thing for us to have the TV turned to them from early morning through late night. I'm not even sure if DH took any time away to turn into the financial channels (his normal daytime viewing schedule). I know I tossed my usual nighttime viewing schedule out the window. It was replaced by Olympics all the way. So on Monday we return to normal - the stock market, the progress, or lack thereof at the shop, the arguments, the hurt feelings. But right now, we have another 48 hours in which to join together, cheer, and celebrate our Olympic team. Unity - it's fleeting, but it actually CAN be achieved. Let's keep that goal in mind. Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini.