I guess its rather fortunate timing to begin a writing campaign (for lack of a better term), in conjunction with the beginning of the Olympic Games. Personally, I am enamored with the Olympics. I love both what they represent and what they imply about the human race. There are few sporting events like it, and in a broader reach there are even fewer things that have the power to unite the world’s attention peacefully around a redeeming focal point. Yes, it is competitive, and with competition comes struggle and conflict, but on a deeper level, the Olympics are a celebration.
To put it in perspective, right now there are about 10,500 athletes in Beijing, for those athletes medals are awarded in 302 events…mathematically, the ratio of success (Gold Medal) is small, and rightfully so. But I believe the captivation of the games extends far beyond, the 302 ceremonies for the awarding of Gold medals and reaches into something that we all connect with, and that is the human spirit.
As I watched the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics, I cannot help but be drawn to the spectacle. It is a true celebration, four years of anticipation culminating to here and now; years of work and preparation. What is so incredible about the opening ceremony is that not one medal has been awarded, there is no distinction between those who are Gold, Silver, Bronze and those who are unadorned…they are all people, simply and purely so. For a moment, the world stops and celebrates being human. We stop focusing on the benchmarks of wealth, status, medals, and our position on the self-prescribed world ranks, and we just agree that while we are all imperfect, and while we all might not be “Gold medalists”, we are all people, we are all in it together, so lets put the achievement aside for a moment and just be human, and lets be human together.
I do not know what it felt like on Friday night in the Bird’s Nest, but deep down I can imagine it, and imagine life in a world where we all live in those big dreamy moments.
For me, so very little of what is happening right now in China is about sports. I think the Olympics are a great reminder to dream big, and to truly celebrate the human spirit. The human spirit, and the celebration thereof, is not about self indulgence or egomania. Neither is it about glorifying ourselves as creation over the God that created us, but rather it is celebrating the things that bridge the divisions that are inherent in the world around us. It is the recognition that while there are many fleeting things that segregate people, there are far more eternal, deeply significant qualities that unify us as human.
While circumstantially my life might be disconnected from other nations, socioeconomic classes, races, and religions. I believe there are connecting points that bring us all together and bridge those vast chasms.
I most likely cannot understand the biting sting of living under the auspices of starvation, plagues, homelessness, or the deep loss of a child or a loved one, but I can indentify with the struggle to find optimism in tough situations and to carry a banner of hope despite how hopeless circumstances seem.
I most likely cannot understand what it feels like to summit Mt. Everest, be a soldier on the streets of Iraq, to be an athlete in Beijing, or to be a single mother taking care of kids and trying to make it work for her family. However, I can identify with what it feels like to be faced with HUGE challenges, to have deep fears, and to have to make decisions to carry on, and push forward despite how big the tasks laid before us seem.
I may never know what it feels like to wear a Gold medal, but I know what it feels like to have big dreams and give it a shot. Often I fall short but I know what it means to give it my best, and to celebrate the journeys that lead both to my successes and failures. And this is the spirit we must celebrate daily, we should adorn grace in those moments, boasting love for each other in our failures. We as people universally fall short time and time again, but we’re in it together, and our shortfalls are one of the universal connecting points of humanity. Our imperfection creates both room and a need for Grace; imperfection is an unavoidable but crucial part of the human spirit.
So I guess what I propose is that we start looking each new day as an Opening Ceremony to celebrate the togetherness that we have the opportunity to live in. I believe that if we at least attempt to focus on the ways that we connect with each other, despite how different and unique we all are, we will begin to love each other, exhibit grace, and live life in new and profoundly impactful ways. I encourage you to look at the world around you and celebrate both the things that make us different and the things the bridge the gaps of our differences to unite us in the spirit of being human.
We are capable of great things...
Let the Games begin.
CP
2 comments:
Chris, Great writing and thought provoking - I'd really like to dive deeper into your point that "imperfection is an unavoidable but crucial part of the human spirit". Your insight would be appreciated...
Why is imperfection so crucial to the human spirit? What makes imperfection so great?
Imperfection is universal. If we were perfect, that implies that we would have all resources and qualities we need to do life independent of each other. The human spirit I spoke of, is the sense of togetherness, the sense that we all are bound by certain things...imperfection being one of them. Like breathing, needing food and water, imperfection is a non-negotiable element of life. Therefore the fact that we are imperfect should be something that all people have in common.
My thoughts on celebrating the human spirit were meant to encourage us, as people, to find the things, good and bad, that bring us together. When we find the elements that bind, and ignore the elements that divide us, we can engage in meaningful, real, life and relationships together.
When I acknowledge my own imperfection, and the imperfection in others, my expectations are right sized. As frustrating as our shortfalls might be, they create an opportunity for us to show grace and acceptance for each other. And most importantly, it defines my need for a source of grace in my life. Once I view myself as imperfect, it puts me on the same level as everyone else…we’re all there together.
What makes imperfection so great!?!? Imperfection allows me to depart from self-reliance, and gives me the opportunity to rely on God's grace, and his process of perfecting me to his image. I find comfort in the fact that my shortfalls are not anything I can solve...but rather, my imperfection is solvable only through him. Biblically, Imperfection = sin. It’s ugly, but both Sin and the need for a solution for Sin, transcend all the conditional elements of humanity. While imperfection is big, the good news is there is a bigger grace out there to fix it.
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