Monday, August 3, 2009

hi friends,
its irony that such alazy bum as me is writing on spirit of olympics, u can see it for yourself that this post is coming months after the olympics are over n may be the trials for next olympics have also started.......... who knows :)
but then all of this is not as it seems. there are two things.
one is that i have strong motivation to be shaken off my lethargy
n second is that being disorganised has certain advantages like finding a note like this from a long forgotten trouser's pocket. so here it is ....

the spirit of olympics

its
almost a monthsince i put on my running shoes. it took almost 07 days of cumulative effort of all the top athletes from across the planet to spur me into action,shaking off my lethargy. if one gold and two bronze, the medal tally of entire indian contingent( incidently the highest ever) had a large role to play in it, i cant say that.

as i was puttin on my joggers, a thought brushed past my mind, " what sould it be like to put on these shoes every waking day of life, come sun, rain or storm and slog it out in the middle, with the knowledge that next day gonna be the same and the next day and all the coming days." i saluted thm all for making a beginning everyday with the sun rising on the horizon or may be before that.

i broke into a jog. its a lovely feeling, i tell you. nothing beats this experience, if you have got into those running shoes of your will and just started warming up with light breeze blowing across your face. the body gets into rhythm, the joints are moving smoothly now. you can feel not blood but spirit of life flowing into your veins. isnt life all about taking a step forward. life is all about taking a step forward, in your destined path. its not about thinking when do i stop. its not about thinking of distance travelled and the distance yet to be clocked. its just about putting the next step ahead. i learnt a very simple formulafor running. its just putting one leg ahead of anotherand the other leg trying to better it. thats what life is all about. you run the best when you are not thinking of what you have covered and what is yet to be, not when you compete with the fellow runner in the race. its when your legs are competing against each other and try to be ahead in the race that you are at your best. life is no race against anyone but your own self. its this spirit of conquering that i salute. else, what is the motivation behind Usain Bolt battling his own world record. what drives michael phelps into breaking his own marks once, twice and ...... ohh i loose the count. its the spirit of conquering your own self. its thes self we are fighting against. i salute all these world beaters. hey... but i hail them all in the same breath who tried and failed. when saina nehwal reached the distance no suttler had reached, when akhil kumar beat the world champion and yet finished without a medal, when khadke broke the national mark, yet failed to qualify,this is all to be proud of. its all about breaking the barriers and about self belief.

as i do my distance and my breathing gets heavier and thoughts of halting come more often than i want them to, i take yet another step spurred by the dogged determination of all these competitors. the logic says that i have done enough for the day and then i take yet another step spurred by those who by their performance have defied gravity, friction and above all logic.

as i come to a halt eventually, i feel like a winner, a champion. hey dont be fooled i have run nothing more than 5 kms call it 5000 meters in olympics lingo and of course i wont tell you my timing and put off all my readers at once who have grown so used to seeing world record timings. but yes, i have won the battle against my lethargy, my tiredness, my own fears, apprehension and my own self doubt, yeah, when in doubt i put forward that extra step.


cheers to the spirit of running.
cheers to the spirit of olypmpics.
cheers to you.
:)