Do Not Be Ships Passing in the Night
Untitled Photo By Priscilla Du Preez is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
About this #MyDay Post
Last night, I was fortunate to attend the South East Asia Games (SEAG) and watch two women's volleyball matches. The games are a biennial multi-sport event with participants from 11 countries in the Southeast Asia region. The first match was Thailand versus Indonesia, and the second match was Vietnam versus the Philippines.
The participants had permanent smiles glued to their faces as they played. There was such comrade and team spirit amongst the athletes that it struck a chord with me and had a profound influence, and it was one of those moments I'll forever remember.
You see, what happened was I looked at each player and thought to myself that they have a lifetime full of life events not too dissimilar to my life.
They each learned to crawl, and a parent was there to capture the moment. They each learned to walk, and a parent was there to capture the moment. They each said their first words, and a parent was there to capture the moment. They each had the first day of school, and a parent was there to capture the moment. They each had a best friend that they depend on for everything.
Even though these were athletes from countries, I know little about, and they have all lived lives that I don't know anything about, we shared something in common at that moment. Our paths crossed at that time, in the games, and we are now forever linked. They to have memories not too dissimilar to mine, and yet, their uniqueness is vastly different than mine, and it's then that I realized the vastness and beauty of humankind.
As I traveled back to my hotel after the matches, I couldn't get this out of my head. These athletes share many of the things that I have, even though we are different and live worlds apart. And having spent time watching them compete, I realized that I should try harder at bringing a pleasant moment to that stranger in the street that I walk by every day in just the same way as they created a pleasant memory for me in watching their play.