What a ride the olympics has been!  Team GB’s medal haul has given us all a much needed lift.  It’s amazing how our individual psyche is affected by the national mood, whether we are community minded or not.  I have been truly impressed by the individual stories of dedication, effort, practice, motivation and team work.  So many of us give up so easily nowadays and its wonderful to hear stories of people becoming triumphant after injury, illness and loss.  

I do feel for the shy participants who just want to perform and then recover privately yet every moment is observed and recorded.  Some seem so dazed afterwards – whether on a high or a low – that they are not sure how they feel and struggle to explain it.  They need to go into such a private psychological space to believe they can win and yet we expect them to talk about their events as though they are observers like us. Being on the inside must be incredible but not something us non medal winners can ever experience.

And what is it about expectations.  There are tables equating so much money spent with so many medals. But what about human error and vulnerabilities? Haven’t we noticed how wrong our predictions often are across so many different sporting events?  Human beings are not machines and a slight change in the wind …can have a big effect on the outcome.  Not only did we have expectations but as these were being surpassed during the games we kept expecting more so the pleasure for the single achievement was less. How could you not get a medal if everyone else you trained with got one?  And suddenly, for some, silver was not good enough. ?!  Sure you want to contribute to the team effort but a medal, of any metal, is a huge achievement.

Expectations can affect us non olympians as well: it seems the better we perform more is expected of us.  This may be why some of us – young and old – do not seek to be outstanding in anything because of the pressure to then keep to that standard.  We could probably all be brilliant at something.  I myself prefer a range of competencies over narrow brilliance but I love to see such incredible feats of brilliance displayed. And how do we encourage participation of ourselves and others even when we are neither competent nor brilliant?  Can we put in the effort as beginners even when we feel inadequate?

It is wonderful to be alive at the same time as this great man.  Previous generations had Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.  I am still amazed at how well loved Mandela is, not because of him but because we so often choose beauty, power and money over substance.  

Mandela stood up for what he believed in : equality and social justice.  He suffered for his cause.  When punished with a prison sentence he tried his best to use that time to develop his physical, mental, emotional and spiritual strength.  When released by his captors, he chose forgiveness and reconciliation over persecution and retribution.   He is not a saint but he had vision and could see what would move humanity on; a long term view.  In his personal life he has had the painful public breakdown of his early marriage and the death of a child.  Still he continues, through his charitable work, to do all he can for the good of humankind.

How many of us are really prepared to work for equality and social justice, at home? abroad? worldwide?

How many of us will use a time of suffering to develop our character?

How many of us will forgive our oppressors when the tables turn and we have the power? Turning the other cheek rather than an eye for an eye.

Like many I struggle with these truths but feel it is worth aspiring to.   What do you think/feel about it?