Why are the Olympics worth watching?

So why are the Olympics worth watching? Why are they worth having? How does it benefit anyone if one person can run really fast? And yet I love the Olympics. I love the film Chariots of Fire. Who cares if you can spell a million rare words in a day when spell checkers are pretty good? What does it matter if one girl can spell a lot of words correctly? And yet I loved the film Akeelah and the Bee. Who cares if a rocket goes into the air? And yet when the boys in October Sky made their rocket shoot up into the air, it mattered. We were elated. Something internal seems to be saying that performing to the very best of your ability must be of value in and of itself. It isn't just about the race or the spelling bee or the rocket. It is about persevering despite difficulties. It is about a spirit stretching mind and body to capacity. It is about reaching toward the divine.

How can I conclude anything other than that the striving in and of itself has value? And yet we still need food. We still need a safe place to sleep and clothes to wear. So certainly working toward ends grounded in more quotidian needs has value. It seems like if you are going to put your heart into something it is worth thinking about that something and how it relates to the larger picture. Do you like how it relates?

The most joyful times in life may be when you can let go of hesitations and fears and second thoughts and focus all out on the completion of a goal. For me to do that I have to trust the goal and know deep down that it is a worthy one and a good one. Perhaps, considering the lessons of these films, I should rethink what it means for a goal to be a worthy one. I might have rejected any of those goals as being strictly Rococo. But a Rococo goal for which you can truly strive is certainly better than a lot of functional goals that you bind yourself to only because you must.

This life is a beautiful one. I believe that we are to reach to the heavens. And I am inspired by so many people who have done so.

Doug