sports – R. Jill Maxwell

Life is all about relationships. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about babes or boys; beasts or broccoli; Broadway or baseball. How we relate or connect with our world as a whole is up to us. The real trick, sometimes, is to follow our kids’ leads.

“Malarkey! Sometimes things, kids, LIFE happens, and we simply have to react.” Sure, it’s still up to each of us every day to choose how we react. Then determine if that reaction yields a positive or negative relationship. Let me show you what I mean.

KATIE, MICHAEL & USAIN

Recently Katie Ledecky, teenager and highly decorated U.S. swimmer, spoke of her Rio Olympic experience after a race. “I’ve just had a lot of fun this week not only in the pool but … with my teammates. The memories mean more than the medals to me here. I’m just so proud of my teammates and what we all have accomplished…” She embraced the entire exhilarating relationship (with her teammates as well as the competition) the same way she’s dominated her events since she was six years old: with youthful enthusiasm. It’s infectious, wouldn’t you agree?

Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympic athlete ever, said in interviews that Coach Bob Bowman is “a father figure to me … He’s helped me through some of the worst times in my life, and he’s been there every step of the way and I’m forever thankful.” Their relationship, while often called complicated, has worked. What “parent/child” relationship hasn’t been complicated?

Then there’s the relationship between Usain Bolt and his mom. For all his showmanship, he’s still human, still gets nervous. His mom’s shared the best way to calm her son is for her to be calm initially and to use humor. How’s THAT for relating to the fastest human ever recorded on earth?

Getty Images/Ringer illustration

ASPARAGUS, BROCCOLI & BRUSSEL SPROUTS

Allergies, bad childhood experiences and peer pressure all influence relationships. Using food as an example, though people can be substituted, too, we make choices to eat our veggies based on so many factors. Certain choices connect us, while others segregate us. Just like children, we may initially not care for one flavor, try it again weeks, even years down the road, and find we’ve changed our minds. Funny how relationships may evolve, isn’t it?

broccoli brussel sprouts asparagus

BASEBALL, OPERA & TECHNOLOGY

Whether you watch sports, prefer the arts or play video games, your relationship with any activities exemplifies how you connect or escape, relax or process, love or reject in your life. Kids’ (and adults’) games show us, again, all about relationships.

Follow the leads of our children of all ages; choose to embrace (instead of blame) relationships on all levels; and something shocking happens. We focus more on using our energies for the betterment of all, because, even if selfish, we know we benefit.

So logically, since we’re all in relationship with each other, why not consider what we expect from our children at school? More peace than war and more love than hate for our shared planet. Imagine how we can affect our global relationships! Aren’t relationships fascinating when you’re open to learning from them. https://www.creativereview.co.uk/the-story-behind-make-love-not-war/

Have you been watching? If not, I’m gonna challenge you to ask yourself: why not? And you can’t say, “because I’m not into sports.” Doesn’t everyone want desire, passion, and love in their lives in some way? I’m still talking about the Olympics here, folks.

DESIRE

You don’t have to be an athlete to appreciate raw ambition and sheer determination. When we turn on the Olympics, we turn on tremendous reminders of what hard work, commitment, and focus can produce. Ultimately, it’s an athlete’s desire to excel and the strength of their hearts that compel us to keep watching, rather than merely their sports. Consider the first ever refugee team, just for a moment with an open mind. Their personal stories are mind-boggling.

Sure. Go ahead. Try to argue that such global inclusiveness isn’t realistic. How do you think the Olympics have persisted over millennia? After all, why else would we allow over 6700 hours of TV programming into our homes and workplaces? We all have desires. The Olympics prove this.

PASSION

U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, 31, the most decorated Olympian ever, used the word “passion” in a recent “Today” show interview. “I had to find the passion myself again … I (did) and I had fun.”

Another U.S. swimming gold medalist, Dara Torres, 33, also spoke to my personal spirit when she said, “Never put an age limit on your dreams.”

While U.S. beach volleyball gold medalist, Kerri Walsh, 38, added “Passion is a huge prerequisite to winning. It makes you willing to jump through hoops … to reach your goal.”

“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit … The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” Wilma Rudolph overcame serious childhood physical disabilities to take U.S. track and field gold in 1956 and 1960.

Finally: “I think the way to become the best is to just have fun.” –Shaun White, 30, gold medalist in snowboarding.

Who said WE couldn’t tap into our unimaginable accomplishments? The Olympics show us how. Olympic rings:black background

LOVE

Everybody knows that to even make it to the Olympics is a remarkable accomplishment. However, for those disinterested in athletics, you’re missing out on a bigger picture. You see, when you look beyond the surface of sports, there’s something more remarkable going on in Rio.

Love someone or something in your life deeply? You’re thus glimpsing athletes’ bravery, positive attitude, and dedication. Like hard-core gamers deeply involved with the intricacies of their platform, musical recording artists seeking perfection in their sounds, and authors who strive for the “right” words to tell their stories, all started with love.

Love? Yes. Plain and simple. Love of their pursuits, love of excellence, perhaps just love of competition or love of escape. Whatever the reason, we each possess the ability to love big. Consider the powerful love of 10,000 Olympic athletes in this time of global chaos and confusion. Doing nothing is automatic defeat.

WRAP-UP

The Olympics spur viewers to stop seeking excuses and to start seeking empowering possibilities instead. As Ayn Rand wrote in The Fountainhead, “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” Usually, when we’re completely honest with ourselves, we know the answer to this question: we greet them every day in the mirror.

(WARNING: SHAMELESS SELF-PROMO ALERT) G.A.S.P. books Since the last Olympics, I published my first book in a trilogy (I’m over 50), and book 2’s rough draft is nearly complete. (See RJillMaxwell.com) I’ve found my passion again, regardless of my age, rolled with the challenges, hung onto my dreams … AND I’m still having fun.

In conclusion, watch the Olympics. Love yourself. Imagine your possibilities.

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LIFE IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS