Olympic Fever

Here is a little sunshine (as Brittany goes, anyway) pic for a cold winter day. This is a shot we took a couple of years ago at Quiberon, following our first visit to Carnac.

The Olympics have begun! I'm always amused at how many people feel compelled to crack on the Olympics, or make a show of how bored they are by them... and this isn't counting the socially-conscious who complain that all that money could be put to better use. I believe that one's appreciation of the Olympics is tied to one's ability to dream, to really understand the outlook that says, "I am not just going to get up and drive to work and slog through a day just to make it to the weekend. I am going to fight for my dreams and try to make myself a little better today." To me, the Olympics are a festival of humanity's capacity for dreams, goals, and self-betterment.

During the weeks that the torch is burning, people from all across the world will put their lives' work to the test. This is another reason I like the event - It truly seems to be the one time that all our nations come together constructively and peacefully. Especially in times like now, when the news is full of reports of screaming lunatics burning down embassies and making death threats over simple cartoons (Yes, I am 100% on the side of free speech, and being free to live my life uninhibited by somebody else's religious laws... especially somebody in another country, thank you very much!). Seeing the Russians and the Americans competing in skiing presents a hope, as much as anything, that maybe one day we can find peaceful means to settle our differences (Or at least put all of our world leaders together in a cage match on Pay-Per-View, and let them bash each other directly without getting their innocent populations involved...).

So, sorry, no French news or silly Brittany stories today, just some idle thoughts about this giant sporting event. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be off living vicariously through the hopes and fears of the world's greatest athletes, sharing just a tiny bit in their triumphs and feeling the pain of their defeats - The same things that we all deal with, whenever we try to just do something more. The Olympics is the life of the achiever writ in macrocosm.