“Great moments are born from great opportunity” – Herb Brooks
All too often we are dwarfed by the media’s sensationalism of celebrities, money, fame, fortune and all the glutenous impulses that drive us all to the brink of insanity. Why is it we feel the need to live vicariously through Brad Pitt, The Bachelor and Kim Kardashian? I wish I had an answer. I wish I knew why a billionaire in Texas is giving five million dollars to a presidential candidate when every street corner in New York has a homeless person waking up each morning wondering where his next meal is.
Where do we find salvation in the direction life is taking us all?
Many of us joke about the apocalypse. Those that believe in the complete word of the bible do know this would not be the first time wen went through a planetary cleansing exercise. Maybe this is our time. Maybe we are all about to embark on a temporary extinction. With movies like Melancholia and The Road even Hollywood is monopolizing on the anticipation, fear and mockery of the end of the world.
So how do we find hope in a world crippled with the death of morals and convictions?
We live vicariously through the moments where ordinary becomes extraordinary. It is when the underdog, the unknown, the weak create miracles. It is when the Chilean Miners escaped to hug their families one more time, when 20 college hockey players on February 22, 1980, gave the United States a reason to believe again, when a young woman diagnosed with cancer, not only beats the disease but was able to celebrate life.
American freedom was one of miracles of all time. An under-manned, under-equipped, under-nourished army of colonists who had nothing more than the idea of a promise of a better tomorrow, banded together and with nothing short of will and hope defeated the greatest military in the world. A true David and Goliath story.
Then there are moments. Moments that bring us to the brink. Moments that shower us with tears of sadness and happiness simultaneously. It is these unforgettable moments that truly reminds us without spoken word that life is worth living and worth dreaming.
It is the speech by Jimmy Valvano, who had the courage to get up in front of a live audience and an international television audience on the brink of death from cancer to talk openly about his disease and his love for his family, fans and sports, it is Pat Summit, one of the greatest basketball coaches ever addressing her fans and disclosing her early dementia diagnosis and it is John F. Kennedy Jr. saluting a flag at his fathers funeral because he doesn’t know why but knew it is the right thing to do that makes it all memorable.
Sometimes you just have to believe in the unbelievable to find your inner strength.
I am here to tell you, life isn’t easy. I won’t pretend it is or even tell you things get better. We will all undergo challenges, moments of weakness and doubt but something somehow finds its way to us when we truly need it. It is as simple as a hug or a sign but its message is loud and clear.
In a world that is 26,000 miles in circumference and 6.3 billion people deep, I suppose we are all underdogs.
It is those rare few the dig into the trenches of their soul and use all the energy in their heart to find the finish line that keep us all believing in something great.
Without a reason to believe, what do we have?
