Very recently I came across the life story of Wally Robinson. His story appeared in Sports Illustrated in 1982. They were reporting the events in the Special Olympics conducted at South Bend, Indiana.
I
found this life story as a fine example for explaining the spirit of sports,
specifically race. We all know that race is often compared with our life. The
spirit of athletic competitions is the participation, not winning as the first.
The active participation in a race is the success.
If
you participate in the race without bothering whether you finish first or last,
you are in the right spirit. But who can enjoy a race like this while
participating in it?
Life
too must be enjoyed without worrying about the first position. Only those who participate
in the race of life for running sake enjoy life. Running is happiness; not
finishing as the first.
All
those who are madly pursuing the first position lead a miserable life. In the
race of life, there is no first position, there is no single winner, but there
are winners.
Here
is the life story of Wally Robinson who really enjoyed the race as a sport.
Five
boys stood ready for the race at the starting line. Wally was one among them.
Moments before the race began Wally looked straight up into the sky for reason
unknown. Seeing this, the other four boys also stood looking into the sky. Then
everybody in the stadium also followed them. There was nothing special in sky.
The sky was blue decorated with white cotton patches here and there.
After
staring at the sky for some moments, Wally finished it and looked far ahead
into the horizon ready to start the race. Just then the gun goes off with a big
bang and Wally took off running in full spirit and power. After going forward
for some distance he felt something wrong with the race. He looked back and saw
the four of his friends standing at the starting line, still gazing into the
sky.
Wally
saw no fun in running alone. This is a race. Running alone to the finishing
point is not a race. The spirit of race is not finishing first, but
participating in the race. A meaningful race needs someone to run with you.
So
he turned back, stood there and yelled back at his fellow runners: "He
guys, c'mon, there's nothing up there; c'mon let's go." Suddenly the other boys realized their mistake
and started running. Wally was excited to see others running towards the
finishing point. He clapped his hand and encouraged them by standing where he
stood: "C'mon, you can do it." He clapped and cheered.
As
he was clapping and cheering, the four boys run right past him, and cross the
finish line. Wally did not drop out. He too ran after them and he reached the
finishing point in dead last.
What
is winning without the spirit of race? What is winning without others running
along with you? What is the meaning of winning without somebody else too winning?
Wally
wanted the race more than winning as the first.
That
night at the Special Olympics banquet an award was given to the boy who most represented
the "Spirit of the Games" and the winner was Wally Robinshaw. The
presenter said, "Show me a person with the heart and spirit of Wally. Show
me a person who is not afraid to allow others to pass him by, and cheer them
on...and I'll show you a WINNER."
Who
is a real winner in life? The one who cheers others to win the race of life. The
victory stand must not a lonely place. It must be a shared platform. We must
have the humanity to invite the whole crowd to the victory stand.
Our
words always must be: “If I can do it, you too can.”
Further
reading:
Professor Jacob Abraham
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