TO WIN OR NOT TO WIN

I went to the Sport Award assembly at school, the other day.

Honestly by mistake because my kids are more academic than sport champions. I thought it would be the last assembly of the year and Clara, my daughter no. 3, was supposed to get her first Principal Award for having had three commendations.

She did not get it because it was not the purpose of that assembly.

I really enjoyed that assembly though. Because I met lots of friends and could say good bye, I could listen to speeches and hymn singing, watching moved parents some of us are proud of our kids only in these occasions…isn’t sooooooooo bad?

thinking “how good my child is” because he/she could get on stage, shake the teachers hands and get the award.

Because I was there by mistake, I was meant to entirely enjoy the show.

Then the something happened.

A good looking ex-soccer champion of the Bafana Bafana team (the national South African soccer team. Bafana means THE BOYS in Zulu) was invited to speak to the children Jeez, I thought he was the new p.e. teacher, wow… drawing all the audience’s attention.

He spoke gently and humbly to the children. He was not academic or intellectual and he told them the most touching story he could share with that bunch of kids aged 10 to 13 years old. Let me wear blue jeans, a white shirt, put on muscles and dark brown hair, a tricky smile and here is the story.

In 1992 I went to the Barcelona Olympic Games hoping to be able to watch the 100 m. final. Those guys train hard for years to compete only for few seconds. Years of training for a 9 seconds competition that will remember only the first one.

I could not get in so I decided to stay to watch the Paralympic.

In one of the races there were only 4 runners. They all had one wooden leg. The race starts and one of them was much faster to lead the competition, when all of a sudden his wooden leg breaks and fall off almost at the finish line.

The three others competitors stop running. In the silent stadium, where people are witnessing all this breathlessly, they help him to stand and carry him through the finish line.

This whole thing changed my life deeply and they way I had always seen the competition. It is not about WINNING it is about WHY we do things in life.

I loved this story. I write and share it with you. When do we give ourselves the time to sink deeply in the meaning of our Life?

Why do we do things? What is the real purpose of what we do?

Do I want to win or do I love what I am doing?

I know the answer for myself. It is a never ending 9 seconds race where we are altogether at the finish line.

What about you?

Love and Rainbow

Copyright2009LorenzaVerdini