Most new parents look at a sleeping baby and their minds flood with hopeful images of successful days and adult achievements. What will this baby be 25 years from now?I'm not a sports person. Never have been. I do appreciate genius and the journey a person must take to arrive at that level. This last week-end I was privileged to watch the opening ceremony for the 2008 Olympics. About 2/3 through the show, one commentator announced, "Retire the trophy. No one will ever top this."
The show was a feast of miraculous images that expanded your mind, thrilled your eyes and ignited your imagination. It was not only a tribute to the genius of the co-directors, Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou and Chinese choreographer Zhang Jigang, but it featured a cast of over 15,000 performers, and was dubbed beforehand as "the most spectacular Olympics Opening Ceremony ever produced.
I would guess that about 80% of the program my mouth was open in complete awe! It's difficult in America to get five people to agree and work together. This show had over 15,000 people working as one machine to produce an unbelievable majestic event.
I kept wondering about the directors, the 15,000 extremely disciplined performers and the dedication of everyone to create such a mind boggling show. I thought about America's latest attempts at fantastic shows and I was embarrassed. How pathetic that we think a rock band, costume malfunctions and a few fireworks are able to express our finest dreams.
As Mommy Detectives we must ask ourselves what components are needed to prepare a child to express his art in such a cornucopia of ways. These men and women collectively had to have a knowledge of history, both Chinese and Olympic. They had to have some knowledge of the participants and why they were coming to the Olympics. They had to understand a universal language and how to express their thoughts in that language. They had to be disciplined and strong as a well as being able to inspire others to be dedicated to the cause and disciplined in their respective areas. They had to be attentive to details and how to form a progressive plan to carry out each detail. They had to be artistic and creative yet sensitive to the needs of the individual. They had to be able to touch over 90,000 people in the stadium with their message and actually bring them to their feet in unison respect for the art.
Their task was huge. It would not be accomplished without a commitment to "Excellence" and a desire to push their own talents to the maximum. This huge goal would never be accomplished with whiners, students who are happy with D's or individuals who think embarrassment on a reality show is achieving your personal best.
Discipline will always take a society to the level of excellence. America is suffering because we are training our youth that "Dumb and Dumber" is acceptable and "Valedictorians" are not. I recently heard a quick blurb on a news show that a county school board was being sued to make valedictorians illegal. Those suing felt that "It makes those that can't achieve that level feel bad." I've heard that other school systems are considering a "no grade" policy. Excellence will never grow within a pass/fail philosophy. Whiners will always lower the bar for any society.
I beg all you Mommy Detectives to train your children to push their limits, go for the gold, strive for excellence and be all that God has called them to be! As Debbie (Michael Phelps mom - 7 Gold medalist) Phelps is proving, we can be a powerful influence in helping our children achieve their best.
Seek His Wisdom
Debbie
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