Record Breaking

For the past two weeks the Olympics has dominated my thoughts and attention. I've been completely swept up in the excitement  of it all. Night after night I've been glued to the coverage - whatever the sport - snowboarding, luge, bobsled -- even curling. I don't get curling. I love everything the Olympics stands for ... clean, fierce competition, raw athleticism and good sportsmanship mixed in with pride of country. For two weeks the world has been a technicolour distraction from the grey and black.

So this morning I was yanked from my euphoria with the news about the Chilean earthwake; I watched the CNN coverage in disbelief. A record of another kind had been broken - the 8.8 strength of the quake was the greatest recorded in human history. The first thing that popped into my head was sadness for the people - for their pain. My second thought was of Haiti - would the world lose interest now? There is still so much need - in Haiti, in Africa, Afghanistan, at home and now - in Chile.

What a beautiful thing it would be if we could unite in love for one another - for humankind - and extend our collective efforts to helping those who are in dire need. What a spectacular feat it would be for us to rally around the needy just as we do for our athletes - our national pride. What could be achieved if we let the Olympic flame ignite our  visions, hopes, and dreams and push us off the shore of complacency into an ocean of possibility that extends far beyond even what we have imagined.

In Canada, the theme for the Olympics has been, "I believe". And you know what? I do.