The closing ceremonies of the latest Winter Olympic games was held yesterday. I know this because my 87 year old mother kept me informed as to what was happening and how many medals Canada was winning every day. She watched the events from morning to evening as they were broadcast and replayed throughout the day. She was engaged and excited with what was happening. In fact it could likely be said this event was the highlight of her month.
While I am happy for each Olympian who achieved recognition and a medal as a result of their commitment and dedication to their sporting endeavour, I wonder about the lasting value of their moment of recognition in the limelight. Then there are all the other athletes who also poured their life and energy into the process and came home having only the experience of being there to show for it.
I do not diminish the value of the skills, the dedication and commitment, and the character development that resulted from the process of becoming an Olympic athlete. Should these competitors take that dedication and effort into other life endeavours it may be extremely important in their future. It could therefore be of benefit to who and what they become in the pursuit and fulfilment of their purpose and destiny on this earth.
If these athletes do not continue to grow and develop their life vision beyond this experience, it will be a short lived and unsatisfactory conclusion to their life. King Solomon wrote about such times in life in the Book of Ecclesiastes and the Hebrew word he used was, “habel.” According to Strong’s Greek & Hebrew Dictionary this word means, “emptiness or vanity; figurative something transitory and unsatisfactory.”
Millions of people around the world spent a couple of weeks of their life fixated on these sporting events. Small numbers will continue to be focussed on the Para-Olympics which will be starting.
These comments are not designed to put down sports or many other potential things to cause distractions in our lives. It is just something which would be good for us to consider, from time to time, as to what we are actually focussing our life upon, before it is gone.