The Olympics and More

Hmmm...so you may have been wondering about the title of this Blog, "Having It All But Nothing At All".

One thing you should know about me is that I am a Christian and my faith is a huge part of my life.  I believe that life extends past death and that there is only one way to make it to heaven and that is through the acceptance of Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross for your sins, in order to pay the price and wash away all of your past, present, and future sins.

That being said I'm also a deep thinker.  I often find myself throughout a normal day wondering about the meaning of life.  I believe we were all created by God for a specific purpose that ties into His master plan for the universe.  Many people have their own view of God, some good, some bad, but my view is that of a loving God who chose to make each and every one of us in order to have an intimate relationship with Him.

I wanted to give you a little background on my personal beliefs so you may understand where my thoughts and opinions mainly derive from.

Ok, now for the main topic that has been sweeping the air this summer, "The Olympics".  I am a huge sports fan.  Did I say huge?! Because it's true.  I've watched as much events this summer as I can lay my eyes on, especially the soccer games, Go US! I'm also a NBA (Pacers), NFL (Colts), and unfortunately a Cubs fan.

So it is common knowledge that the Olympics are only every four years, and these athletes train their fannies off in order to hopefully reach their ultimate goal of taking home a gold medal.  My questions to you,  "Is the training really worth it?"

What about the U.S. Runner Morgan Uceny who fell today in the woman's 1500-meter Final!  She was in the middle of the pack in prime position to make a move towards the leader and her leg got bumped, sending her body to the track.  If that's not bad enough the exact same thing happened during the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008.

I wonder if Morgan Uceny was asked if the eight years of her life spent training were worth the attempts at gold, what she would say?

And what about the runners who actually win gold?  Are they satisfied with their accomplishments, or do they still long for even more?

In general when is enough, enough?

How do you know when to quit and how do you know when you've done the best you can?

Especially for these athletes, knowing that sometime in the future their records will most likely be broken.

Having It All But Nothing At All.  That is how I think many of the "Stars" in Hollywood, and the top dog athletes feel today.

Lets take Usain Bolt for instance.  Obviously he has proven to be the fastest man on earth for the past two olympics.  As a sports fan I am flat out in aw every time I see that man sprint!  His accomplishments on the track are legendary to say the least and they come along with arguably the best personality in professional sports.

However, in a few years Bolt's mighty legs will begin to break down and the inevitable aging process will take its toll, it hardly ever loses...

When this happens and Bolt is no longer the fastest man in the world, what does he have?  He may have a few Olympic Gold Medals to his name and most likely the world record for a few years down the road, but how far will that really take him?

What I'm trying to get at here, if it is not yet clear, is that no matter how much "Success" you have in life, it means nothing if you can not use it to make the world a better place and help others.

Bolt is just one example, and I have nothing bad to say about the man because personally I don't know him and he could be the best man on earth for all I know, but he is put on a pedestal like many of today's Hollywood celebrities and prime time sporting athletes.  Many of whom use their popular status to do great things for others, and that is amazing!

What do you think about Michael Phelps and his 22 Medals?  Pretty amazing, no doubt.  What if we hypothetically compare Michael Phelps, the most decorated olympian of all to "Anna" (a made up woman who takes in underprivileged kids in her community, fosters them, and because of "Anna" these children are able to grow up and have a chance at living a good life).

Whose life is more successful and whose life is more meaningful?

If you're like me Anna and her foster children sound like a touching story, but I tend to lean towards Michael Phelps, at least instinctively.  Maybe this is just a product of my upbringing, or maybe it's more...

I believe that we live in a culture today that has it's ideas of living a successful life completely lopsided. I believe that we are so screwed up that we literally need a miracle to wake ourselves up.  Because even if I had to chose right now what life I would rather have, I'm sad to say it, but I may choose the superstar athlete, Hollywood actor, or rockstar lead singer, over the life of Anna, the foster parent.

I think that in general we need to do some self evaluation and some slowing down.  I am a huge sporting fan, but when did professional sports turn into, not just the athletes entire lives, but also the fans who follow them?

As I said at the beginning, I believe we were all created for our own specific purpose, but I do not believe that there were people specifically made to be "Yankees Fans" or "Patriots" Fans.  I think these things are fun, but I want to see people start to live their own lives, develop their own character, and try to reach their unique individual potential!

Maybe I am just thinking too deeply, or maybe there are others who share the same convictions as I.

Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this piece and maybe made you think a little bit deeper.  Any constructive criticism is ok with me and will not hurt my feelings.

Have a great day and stay tuned for more to come!