Inspirational..

Started by melly, September 18, 2008, 11:29:23

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melly

the paralympics have just finished, and we watched them. To see the swimmers, without a limb, or in some cases, limbs, slicing their way through the water, some adopting a "dolphin" style to propel themselves was awesome. Tie your arms behind your back and jump into a swimming pool. Try to swim without kicking your legs! Aussie gold, silver and bronze medals were won in the pool, records smashed!! The vision impaired cyclists! Imagine being blind, sitting on the back seat of a tandem bicycle, the front rider vision impaired, riding as fast as the wind around a velodrome, your chin resting on the front rider, so you can tell when to lean. More medals!! Tie a small leather strap around the wrist of someone you trust, then your own, close your eyes and RUN! Run as fast as you can, not in a straight line, depending totally on your running partner to guide you. Get on the back of a horse, legs tied to the saddle, unable to grip,unable to use your legs to hang on, and take that horse through a dressage test. A local girl was riding her horse over there, so proud of her!! Riley Batt!! You are our new hero! He is a 19 year old Aussie wheelchair Rugby player. Yes, Rugby!  How we cheered them on, it was just amazing!  His speed and their tenacity brought a silver medal home. Playing basketball confined to a wheelchair is another triumph! A gold for the Aussie men, Bronze for the girls! Imagine running, not being able to balance your body as an arm is missing; the fastest man on the track ran with 2 artificial legs!  Again, the Aussies did us proud,more medals!!The wheelchair athletes, their upper bodies taut and muscled, flying around the track, heads down, aiming for the finish line in their stream-lined chairs... And next time my own physical pain brings tears to the rims of my eyes, I shall remember the runners, their bodies afflicted with cerebral palsy, running, running, as fast and as hard as they could.. some pushed themselves to over their limits, their bodies unable to withstand the demand placed on them, and to our horror, we saw them crash to the ground, not even able to put their arms out to cushion their fall. And they got up.
So many true heroes, so many amazing, brave and wonderful souls. The Aussies have brought home a plethora of medals, clutching them proudly. I would give every competitor a medal, just for having the guts to be there.
A lesson in life, courage and determination.
I stand in ovation at the paralympians....
" Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...it's about learning to dance in the rain "...

Janko

Yes, really great motivation to get up from my comfy couch.

:smth023
Fatter than Bob, balder than Porl, as sober as Simon, as amusing as Jason