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Wonder is the beginning of wisdom. – Socrates<\/p>\nWonder is the beginning of wisdom. – Socrates<\/p>\n
This week presented a rare unexpected treat: an early look at the Olympic performances to come.\u00a0 I\u2019m gearing up to clear my schedule, although I\u2019m not quite sure what it is about the Olympics I love so much.\u00a0 I\u2019m not a dedicated a sports fan, but the Olympics seem to go beyond sport.\u00a0 Upon reflection, I think my love for the Olympics is explained by the same reasons that July 4th<\/sup> is my favorite holiday; it\u2019s the sense of patriotism and togetherness, which\u00a0wonderfully combines to produce that nebulous subject of many a recent article and New Year\u2019s resolution: awe.<\/p>\n Team and Togetherness<\/u><\/p>\n Seeing these young athletes compete and perform as team USA is inspiring.\u00a0 Giving of one\u2019s self for team is an admirable thing, perhaps more so, as it is a weakness of mine.\u00a0 I often prefer to work alone.\u00a0 But sometimes, I find the alone-ness can become too much.\u00a0 Watching young athletes come together to compete for their country is an amazing thing to me.\u00a0 It makes me grateful to be a part of it, even as a distant viewer, as I am similarly grateful to all the men and women who strove and persevered to protect our freedom.<\/p>\n Likewise, in watching the amazing physical feats unfold, there\u2019s a sense of being swept away from our own troubles.\u00a0 Much like a good book, it\u2019s wonderfully easy to lose yourself in their stories, and the nail-biting competition.<\/p>\n During the depression, movie-going reached an all-time high, despite disposable income being virtually non-existent for many families, even at pricing of 35 cents a ticket. \u00a0Some of this may be explained by escapism. \u00a0I do think we need an outlet every now and then.\u00a0 People aren\u2019t designed to be miserably immersed in their own difficulties all the time.\u00a0 Seeing misery all around, stamped on the faces of friends and neighbors, is disheartening, and it\u2019s easy to become downtrodden.<\/p>\n New York times columnist, David Carr, says And I think when darkness is intruding from every direction, people like to go in a room and hold hands and stare at a little campfire in common.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n It is removing this separateness of self that so appeals, a coming together in support of something bigger than ourselves.\u00a0 The promise is that for a time we will all be viewing together, and watching, and waiting, and hoping, and then breathe a collective sigh of relief when the hand touches the wall, or the feet land on the mat.\u00a0 I love that breathless feeling, realizing I had been holding my breath the whole of the routine or race. When it is over, the problems I thought I had been facing, don\u2019t seem as great.<\/p>\n True Grit<\/u><\/p>\n I find myself marveling at the sheer difficulty of the sport and routines these athletes achieve.\u00a0 It seems each subsequent Olympics, the physical requirements increase, always adding an extra second, or foot, or flip, to be at the top.\u00a0 It makes me feel all their hard work and years of discipline has been worth it.\u00a0 I admire their grit, their perseverance, and marveling at all they must have given up to be here at the Olympic games. Seemingly if they can do this, can I not also overcome whatever challenge or issue I may be facing?<\/p>\n I feel similarly about history, reading and hearing stories of ancestors who fought for truth and righteous, and didn\u2019t give up on their dreams.\u00a0 Maybe I too, can find it in myself to reach beyond, to commit to a course, be it work, family, a hobby, or all three, or whatever it is that makes one happy, and follow it, with dogged dedication and determination.<\/p>\n Wonder and Awe<\/u><\/p>\n This year is also special, as I look forward to experiencing these Olympics with my daughter.\u00a0 Her amazement and inquisitive questions about what\u2019s she\u2019s seeing, make me view it with fresh eyes.\u00a0 She asks if she can take gymnastics, Will she be able to do this?<\/em> \u00a0I smile as I answer, knowing she believes just one trip to the gym will enable her to execute a handspring on the beam.\u00a0 She asks, Did I take gymnastics? <\/em>\u00a0I did.\u00a0 Well, then, Can I do this?<\/em>\u00a0 Again, I laugh visualizing what my miserable attempts at a mere cartwheel would look like.\u00a0 Then, her eyes return the screen, as the gymnast runs, flips and turns, like a little doll, and lands seemingly effortlessly. \u00a0I see the joy and amazement shining in my daughter\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n I saw this same wonder on the face of both of my children in viewing July 4th<\/sup> fireworks.\u00a0 As the fireworks began to ascend, and burst in the air, both children peered in awe, quite transfixed.\u00a0 Michael, pointed and said, Oh!! Rainbow!<\/em>\u00a0 Julia\u2019s face took on a look of enchantment.\u00a0 After the first round of booms, she exclaimed, I am just amazed with my eyes<\/em>!\u00a0 The next multicolored shimmer brought, It is so pretty!<\/em>\u00a0 The next large resounding booming type, provoked, Oh my gosh!<\/em>\u00a0 She giggled her glee, and announced to the general crowd near us excitedly, This is my first fireworks!<\/em><\/p>\n Wonder and awe is something that\u2019s easy to lose as we age, when the disillusionment of youth fades, replaced by knowing and acceptance.\u00a0 When I think about the alternatives, I\u2019m not sure I would choose my sedate adult ways over child-like enthusiasm and naivety.\u00a0 I can only hope age will bring a new phase of spirit: peace and wisdom.\u00a0 But, for a time, it is nice to experience wonder again, whether it comes from a firework\u2019s boom-sizzle, a high-flying bar routine, or simply from my child\u2019 smile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wonder is the beginning of wisdom. – Socrates This week presented a rare unexpected treat: an early look at the Olympic performances to come.\u00a0 I\u2019m gearing up to clear my schedule, although I\u2019m not quite sure what it is about the Olympics I love so much.\u00a0 I\u2019m not a dedicated a sports fan, but the… Continue reading Sparklers and Olympic Spirit<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p78aL7-2I","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lynnricker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lynnricker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lynnricker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lynnricker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lynnricker.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=168"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/lynnricker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":182,"href":"https:\/\/lynnricker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168\/revisions\/182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lynnricker.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lynnricker.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lynnricker.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}