Cheering on the World

My sister Bethany always makes fun of me for getting excited when I'm in the car and I hear an ambulance siren coming up behind me.  Obviously I'm not excited about that fact that someone's in need of an ambulance (in fact I often offer a quick little prayer that they'll be okay), but I do love (love!) the way that all of us motorists in peak hour traffic, who don't know each other and probably will never meet, get to suddenly work together to make a pathway for the ambulance to pass through. I get a dorky grin on my face, or sometimes I get a little teared up by the whole thing.  Obviously I'm a little weird.  But I just love those moments that remind me that we're all part of a bigger community, and that (whether we know it or not), we all came here to earth with the same goal of living the best lives we could and one day returning to our Father in Heaven.

I think it's also why I love the Olympics so much.  I love the opening ceremony.  I love the spectacle and the chance to cheer on the host country as they tell the rest of us about themselves.  But mostly, I think I love knowing that I'm part of something that millions and millions of people around the world are also part of.

I love celebrating each other, and though it's true that I'm fiercely, fiercely competitive and wish Australia could win everything, I also love the fact that we get to come together and celebrate the achievements of those who've worked so hard to develop their talents.  And I get just as excited for the last place runner who ran a personal best time as I do for the first place runner.

I got up early this morning and watched the final for the 100m Women's Hurdles.  Sally Pearson was the favourite, and I was really excited to see her race.   It was all over in 12 seconds, and then there was a heart stopping minute of waiting to see who'd won.  It looked like Sally, but the USA's Dawn Harper was awfully close.  And then up it went on the score board: Sally had won by .02 of a second!  She let out a roar of relief and dropped to the ground completely overcome. 

 And Dawn Harper - who'd run her personal best time to get the silver - beamed a huge grin and started clapping her hands for Sally. 

 They were both so excited and Dawn Harper was so gracious and so thrilled to have done her best.  It was probably the most exciting Olympic moment I've witness in these games so far - and there have been quite a few!  I was so glad I'd gotten up early, and was so exited to have been a part of it - even if it was by sitting on the couch in Brisbane in my Pajamas! 

“It is the inspiration of the Olympic Games that drives people not only to compete but to improve, and to bring lasting spiritual and moral benefits to the athlete and inspiration to those lucky enough

to witness the athletic dedication”.

Herb Elliott (Australian middle-distance Runner, world record holder in the 1,500m race (1958-67) and the mile race (1958-62)