Will the Summer Olympics really be held? What will happen to the dreams of the athletes? Sigh.
Every single day, there are more obstacles that come up for the Summer Olympic Games. To actually make any Olympics happen takes an incredible amount of brains, luck, and just single-minded almost fanatical devotion to results. How would I feel if I were an athlete at those games? Well, truly, I'm not worrying to compete. I have enough challenges in my life to need to add the pressure of Olympic competition. Hmm, come to think of it - athletic competition has seldom taken up much of my life. All right, it has taken up almost nothing of my life. But I am a sucker for the underdog. I am a sucker for those who face heartbreak well out of their control. I do have a fascination for those who are the best at what they do. I cannot imagine devoting years to competition for the Olympics and have to face the serendipitous nature of an attack by the Covid virus.
I remember some decades ago going to a place in Morristown to watch the Olympic torch being carried through the town. It was exciting. Everyone lined the streets. We all cheered. The torch helped to bring us together as fans cheering for our United States athletes - so many people who wanted their dreams to come true.
Going back even more decades to the 1980 Winter Olympic games at Lake Placid. . Who could forget the cries of our country's cheering our ice hockey team. I might never be on that team, but I would cheer USA USA USA. Years after that I was walking around the place at Mount Placid where the ice rink had been used for the games. It was so easy to quickly imagine and hear the shouts of the crowds "USA USA USA." It was almost, but not quite, like actually being present for the games.
The news is filled of heartbreaking stories of athletes testing positive for COVID and not allowed to compete. No spectators will be allowed to be present for the games. Surely, the cries of the crowd help to energize the athletes - well, not this year. So sad.
In case you are not up to speed on important historical figures, here is Jiminy Cricket speaking with Pinocchio:
While I was musing about the problems being encountered this week at the Olympic games, I started thinking about the Disney song, "When you Wish upon a Star" first sung in the 1940 production of Pinocchio. As you no doubt remember, this song was sung in the film by Jiminy Cricket. (editor's note: please note that this is a highly researched post in my blog!) Here is the final verse as sung by Mr. Cricket:
"Like a bolt out of the blue,
Fate steps in and sees you through...
When you wish upon a star,
Your dreams... come... true!"
Our Olympic athletes probably had dreams expressed in those lyrics. Who could not?
These various events make me think about my dreams, my hopes for my life - and perhaps you have these types of dreams as well.
I look at the dreams I had. On the not totally realistic side, I always wanted to be tall. I finally have given up (just last week!) on that as a goal - particularly in light of the anatomical research indicating that we actually shrink as we get older! But, as I remember various dreams that I had and try to locate them in time, I see that my dreams became simpler, far less complicated, and, lately, much simpler.
I believe that God wants each of us to be happy - not more complicated. That is my dream = from the vagaries and complexities of today, I just want to emerge happy. Perhaps it is a function of age, or more time spent on spiritual things, but I hope to be quite happy just being happy. I am not there yet. This is my dream. I arguably will not compete in the Olympics, but will compete, ever so gently, in just dreaming and trying to be focused about being happy. I am fine with this. I also pray for the Olympic athletes - may they find happiness in their highly complicated goals of being Olympic champions. May all at the games remain safe.
To end this unplanned Disney montage: I also do not want to grow up.