The Inner Olympic Games Beijing 2008 and Beyond
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August 21, 2008
August 14, 2008
The Olympic Games As Pointers To Greater Human Abilities
I watch the Beijing Olympic Games in awe. I am one of four billion people glued to our TV sets watching Chinese, American and Russian gymnasts dancing in the air, swimmers frolicking in water and players of various sports displaying their skills. So what does this tell us about other abilities that aren't on display in the marketplace for all to see? Read on
August 12, 2008
Letting Go of Broken Olympic Records
It's no news that world records are set at every Olympic Game. What is less known is the implication for previous title-holders who are still alive. What happens when world record holders lose their titles?
August 10, 2008
Are you winning your Olympic Games?
We are part of some four billion people watching the extraordinary performances of athletes from more than 200 countries at the Beijing Olympic Ganes. Over 300 gold medals will be won and carried away to different parts of the world. The article continues here
August 08, 2008
New Bolg On 08-08-08
Please visit my new blog.
August 07, 2008
The Unacknowledged, Unappreciated, and Forgotten Among Us
My reflection on Randall Forsberg and how she was able to organize a mass movement that influenced the course of world peace set me thinking about the unacknowledged, unappreciated and forgotten among us. Because of the law of supply and demand, it is always easy to single out rare individuals whose lives had direct impact on large numbers of people: Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, Florence Nightingale, Albert Schweitzer, William Wilberforce, and you can add your own heroes and heroines to the list.
But what is equally true is that each of these famous people had parents. If for no other reason, the mere fact that a woman gave birth to any of these needs acknowledgment. And when these great individuals were kids some of them had babysitters. In the case of Gandhi, for example, his nanny taught him a powerful mantra which he used his whole life.
Many people make a lot of difference in the world without any acknowledgment, recognition or appreciation. At restaurants sometimes we see the name of the chef on the menu and he is recognized for the delicious dishes. But we never hear of the dishwashers and the cleaners. I wonder what happens to tips that servers receive. Do those who work behind the scenes share in them?
Which leads me to professions that are hidden from the public view but who make the system function properly. What happens when garbage collectors go on strike? When air traffic controllers take a break for one day? When those who work with the routers that control Internet traffic go to sleep?
Many more wonderful people do their jobs every day unacknowledged and unappreciated: those who take care of various forms of disabled people, underpaid home caregivers, the overworked nurse and the unseen hospital laundry workers as well as those who take care of the remains of the dead. They are all so important to the functioning of society.
One of these days will it not be great if we seek out someone who does the behind the scenes work and say: "Thank you."?
August 06, 2008
Making a Difference a Person at a Time
Sity-three years ago this month the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. Thousands of people were killed instantly. Many more died later. The psychological effects of the detonation of those weapons on the human spirit still haunt the world today.
Over the years a handful of countries have acquired nuclear weapons. Many more nations and individuals are working secretly to acquire them in the future. The genie of mass destruction is set loose into the world.
While attempts to ban nuclear weapons through UN resolutions have failed because three countries including guess which country have refused to sign the resolution there is hope for a nuclear free world.
One woman who carried that banner of hope for a peaceful war-free earth was Dr. Randall Forsberg. She founded the Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies and began the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign in the eighties. She was able to organize a grassroots movement. At its height in June 1982, the movement organized a demonstration in New York where more than 700,000 people attended.
Dr. Randall Forsberg educated Americans on the dangers of nuclear proliferation and attenpted to get the government to reduce the production of these deadly weapons.
"Many people will say this is hopeless, this is too much, this is too big, it's too hard," Forsberg told the Globe in an interview in 1984. "All I'm talking about is that people understand what's being done in their name, what they're going along with. That people look at their own feelings about the way the world works, about human nature, about warfare and look around them."
As the people of Japan remember this sad history, I find consolation in the power of an individual to make a difference. Randall Forsberg's life showed us what one individual can do. Randy died last October but her spirit lives on, encouraging each one of us to make a difference whereever we find ourselves.
