Give me the torch, lit, and passing it along

 What Will You do With Your Torch?

Well… the previous entry suggested some new perspectives on the athletic gala we have come to know as the Olympics.  Every four years we bring a herd of the world’s strongest, fastest, and most strategic people together  to compete for a little piece of metal made of bronze, silver, and silver with some gold plating.  Every time they light the big torch there are some epic stories born or continued.  For the U.S. there were some remarkable performances by individuals and by team athletes.  Simone Biles “comeback” triumph reminds us that we all get a little freaked out sometimes and yet we can reach deep inside and find the spirit needed to let us soar again.  Sure.. even though you have a carpeted floor we’re not encouraging you to do that reverse double back flip with a twist no matter how many shots of tequila you’ve mixed with Red Bull.  Oh and for the fourth straight Olympics Katie Ledecky got flagged by the DNR for violating the no wake signs and brought home multiple medals.  The US Women’s Soccer team and hooptsters were impressive in the clutch and well the US men’s basketball. Team passed the ball to the quickest three-point scorer of all time and said “hey Mr. Golden State-offer up the golden rainbow and bring us home the gold,” and he did.  

The point is… when the flame was burning a lot of people brought their best to share under the five rings and for two weeks we saw great sportsmanship, human effort, and the results of people trying to be just a little better at their purpose.  

Now… the flag gets passed to the next host and in a few short years we will see the torch come to life again and get passed.  Well… what if?

What if the flame could stay lit eternally?  What if we could all strive to find the triumphant spirit within us or within each other?  What if we understood the idea of keeping our torch lit and passing the light within and outside  us onto the next person in the line  and finally this light would be used to keep the flame in the big marshmallow pit above the stadium glowing.  

Do we really need to let the torch go dark or can we treat it like a candle?  You know when you use your candle to light someone else’s candle they both burn brightly and yours doesn’t burn any less bright.  

In the next few days we will see countless highlights of the Paris games and rightfully so, however imagine the peace and joy that could be spread if we decide to let the games end for now and yet keep our torch glowing and keep sharing it?