EMPTY PEDESTALS: A World Searching for Leaders Who Will Work Together
By Dr. Denis Waitley
The Greeks Had the Right Idea
The first Olympiad was held in 776 B.C., the first accurately attested date in Greek history. Recognizing the unity of spirit, nature, body and mind, the Greeks created the Olympic Games in celebration of the harmony of the cosmos. They saw The Games as much more than mere athletic competition. Their Olympians were trained by coaches, scholars, physicians, and clergy, not only in sports, but also in religion, the arts, philosophy, politics and music. The athletic games were only one form of Olympic competition. There were also musical, theatrical, and artistic events for the public’s enjoyment and for the participants means of expressing individual and team excellence.
The ancient Olympics flourished until Rome conquered Greece in 146 B. C.† Roman indifference and corruption led to the abolishment of the Games in 393 A. D.† When Baron Pierre de Coubertin conceived the idea of reviving the Olympics in Athens in 1896, he was inspired by the original principles that had fostered the Games in the first place:
- The value of the whole person in spirit, body and mind
- The belief in individual freedom and merit
- A consciousness of our individual and collective responsibilities to each other
- An acceptance of our inalienable right to participate in public affairs
Many in today’s society are too busy looking out for number one to embrace such an idealistic vision. Others, watching centuries‚Äô old hatred continually rekindled throughout the world, believe this idea of cooperation and stewardship to be a Pollyanna vision seen through rose-colored glasses.
Nonetheless, the original idea of winning behind the Olympic games was that there is a place and time where the boundaries dividing people are forgotten, where heritage, language, race and religious belief raise no barriers between individuals; where social order of birth, national power, or material wealth are of no account as far as the worth of human life is concerned; where individuals, stripped of their labels, compete with their neighbors peacefully and honorably, solely to be the best they can be against a standard of excellence.
The hope was that this Olympic spirit could carry over to inspire the whole world, not just for a few days of an Olympiad every four years, but every day of every year. The early Olympians sought a harmony built upon a twofold goal: develop individual ability and give it proper merit and recognition, while never forgetting the collective responsibility we have to one another.
This is a vision worth nurturing and rekindling. One had only to watch the opening and closing ceremonies of the Summer Olympiad in Beijing, China in August of 2008 to see the triumph of harmony through diversity, courage and effort.
What is needed is new leadership throughout the world, including the Olympic movement, based upon the integrity of the original mission statement. In order to instill the critical need for peaceful coexistence and cooperation throughout the world, the children of the next generation need to be immersed in programs at every level of their primary and secondary education to ingrain the principles necessary to foster lasting peace into the Five Rings that symbolize the five continents housing all members of the United Nations; not in a single event every four years, but every day of every year from now on. It is key to the survival of life on this planet.
It will take a commitment and passion as bright and hot as the Olympic torch itself and will also require at least four years of training to make the roots strong enough to endure.
If we expect leadership in politics or amateur athletics, we must first demand it of ourselves and set an example for future generations to follow.
Dr Denis Waitley is an author, keynote speaker and consultant to multi-national corporations. He served as Chairman of Psychology, on the U. S. Olympic Committee’s Sports Medicine Council, responsible for the performance enhancement of Olympic athletes during previous Olympiads.
Website: http://www.waitley.com