Sunday Fundays: Olympic Dreaming

I was excited for this year's Olympics. To be honest, I have never been very excited for the Olympics. As a huge sports fan, I realize that may seem weird. I think it was mostly because it involved many sports I don't even watch--gymnastics, swimming, cycling, weightlifting (I mean, come on..really??) But I think I'm starting to get it now. For example, I don't know what to look for in gymnastics in terms of scoring, but I do know that what they're doing required blood, sweat, and tears. I know that all of their hard work and practice comes down to one chance and one moment in front of the whole world. And I appreciate their passion and their journey in pursuit of their goals and dreams. 

Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's not, but I've always had these dreams where I'm someone great, or I'm someone doing something great. For some of these Olympians, they had a dream, and they are living it right now in Beijing. I'm 24 now, how many of my dreams are realistic anymore? When I was a kid, it was okay to have these absurd yet beautiful dreams because at the time, I didn't know any better. There was hope that it could happen because hey, anything can happen. But what happens when we grow up? What do we dream about now? "Oh, when I grow up, I want to be a 35 year old soccer mom?" "I want a 9-5 job with 2 weeks vacation a year!" I don't know...

I guess what I'm trying to figure out is, how do I deal with mediocrity? How do I accept that in this one life we have to live, I will never be some of the things I've dreamed of being? Depressing huh? 

And then I realize that I'm looking at it all wrong. I will have a lot of misery in my life if I think like that. It's the classic mistake of looking at everything I don't have and not realizing the worth of everything I do have. In a world where nothing's promised--not riches, not success, not even the breath in our lungs, we have to appreciate the beauty of simple, ordinary things. We can find joy in our lives no matter how unglamorous it seems compared to what we had hoped for. We may not be winning gold medals for our country, but we can still be doing something meaningful with our lives. I'm not even going to say, "Okay everyone, let's make a difference in someone's life!" How about we settle for making a difference in someone's day for starters? Telling a joke to get a smile, offering an ear to listen, saying words to comfort, extending a hand to help out. It's not about the fame and glory like I had originally dreamed of as a kid. It should be about who I am and what I do--not only when the world is watching, but especially when the world's not watching. 

Maybe the theme of my 24th year of life is becoming less concerned with myself (aka being less self-centered) and loving others more. It'll probably require some blood, sweat, and tears because, let's be honest, it's probably a lot easier said than done. But hey, so is winning 8 gold medals right?