--Sergei Bubka, Olympic pole vaulter, former Soviet Union.
My friend Jimmy raises tiny baby sting ray sharks in
thousand gallon salt water tanks in his suburban basement. My colleague Barb
spends her free time on the frigid slopes of a Vermont cross country skiing course,
shushing away in a silent winter wonderland.
My brother Ed straps on a backpack and hikes tens of miles up and down
the hills and crags of the northern Appalachian trail. My fellow choir member Jackie practices her solo
in the car, on the way to work, while other commuters look on with astonishment.
And me? I sit down in a chair, stare at a blank computer
screen or an empty legal pad, and try and create from thoughts and ideas and words, a coherent and, hopefully enlightening, piece of writing.
And we're all just amateurs.
Folks who embrace individual passions and pursuits, not for
pay or prestige, not because we have to, but because we want to, because we
have found some "thing" that we absolutely love doing and thus we do it,
with joy, with enthusiasm, and most important, with love. "For the love of": this is what
amateur means--to undertake a sport or a hobby, an art or a craft, a calling or
an avocation, because when we do this ONE THING, it makes us happy. It thrills our hearts.
Which is the main reason I'm watching the Winter Olympics,
as 2,925 athletes from 92 countries compete against each other in the chilly mountains
of South Korea. Yes, its awe inspiring to see ski jumpers
hurl through the air at sixty miles per hour and figure skaters jump with such
grace, to witness the geeky precision of curling and the herculean stamina
needed for cross country ski racing.
But what I really enjoy is seeing how much these athletes so
love to do what they are doing. How wide their smiles are; how sincere and
authentic their efforts are; how committed and even brave they are, as they do
their best, give their all, and not because of a paycheck, not most of the
time. A myth of the modern Olympic
movement is that these once "amateur athletes" are now paid for their
"work". The truth is, that
save for a few high profile athletes who secure multi-million dollar
endorsements, the overwhelming number of Olympians have minimal financial
support for their efforts. Most make
great life sacrifices to pursue their dreams of gold. And most will go home without a medal, but
with one truth to warm their hearts, to hold on to as a sparkling memory.
They are doing what they love. They are still amateurs. They have discovered what makes their souls
soar and their hearts sing, this gift that God gave them, for the love of.
Every human being needs to be an amateur, to discover and
then embrace some "thing" that captures the heart and thrills the
spirit. Connects us somehow to the
deepest part of the soul. I think of folks who spend hours in the garden and
find their place in the world among the flowers and the vegetables and even the
weeds. An amateur carpenter who takes a piece of wood and then lovingly shapes
it into a family heirloom, a gift someone will cherish forever. The weekend artist who feels so free when she
parks herself with an easel next to the waterfall and then just paints. A cyclist
who loses himself in the thousands of circles that he turns on the pedals, with
the pumping of his legs, as the world in beauty glides by.
It is the rare person whose full time work is also their
full time bliss. No, most of us find our
liberation, our happiness, in some "thing" else. Volunteering.
Creating. Sporting. Playing.
So here's to the amateur in all of us.
What do you really love to do?
Find that out, discover what God made you to do, to love,
and then you will win the gold medal! Of
that I am sure.
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