Lockdown 518

Lockdown Day 518 - 26 August 2021

While prepping some veg for dinner later today, I decided to tune into the Paralympics Tokyo20. Swimming was on the menu, which I love, of course.

But nothing could have prepared me for this session. I watched how people from all kinds of disability classifications got into a pool and swam their hearts out, some for medals and others who qualified just to experience the moment. What hit me the most was the mixed relay. The teams comprised of two men and two women.

All the teams were in the disability classifications S6, SB5, SM6 and have different types of disabilities including short stature, major limb impairment or loss of two limbs. This includes amputees, dwarfs and people with cerebral palsy. 3 Of Team China, who won gold, were swimmers who had no arms, only legs.

What I saw, blew my mind. They torpedoed through the water at a mind boggling speed, lifting their heads as if they had arms and powered on by their super, almost motorised kicking action. I was in tears, not only for these amazing men and women, but for the total defiance of what is deemed as impossible by the rest of the able bodied world.

I believe most of these athletes are more "together" than any able bodied person and that us "normal" people fall extremely short of this mindset. They have pushed aside their amygdala's hunger for bad news and chose to saturate it with the I can, I will  attitude.

Wow. Celebrating one's body in such a way that God is glorified for designing that kind of resilient spirit, is nothing short of miraculous. What an inspiration!

Suddenly the issues of day to day life seem niggly.

So tonight I pray for humankind, for the attitude of an S6 athlete. This makes this pandemic seem insignificant because the God who creates such pure hearts is bigger than this abominable virus. And He's definitely got this.