Virtue and Moir Olympic Gold

Tessa and Scot are truly a study in present moment peace.

I wonder about their private lives. I wonder about their individual personalities and I wonder what part of me wants to dissect them.

I hope someone is so interested in what makes them tick that they will follow their every move between now and the next Olympics four years from now.

From the living room of my friend watching ice dance finals my energy level increased gradually. Watching ice skating competitions has always been very stressful for me. Emotions run up and down the scale - affected by the music chosen for each performance as well as the skills of the skaters.

This program was the final ice dance competition for medals. Tonight's results would determine the world's best ice dance skaters. The pressure for best performance could not have been higher for Tessa and Scot. They were in the top position but very close to their challengers (also best friends in their training circle). A tie for Gold was a possibility - they were that close.

Canadians needed a gold medal - the results overall for Canada was disappointing so far.

The program started out with the youngest and least experienced skaters in the realm of Olympic standards - although the order in which they performed was a random draw, or so I was told.

Not being an expert in skating, with almost no interest in the Olympics, I am no judge of skills.

But I noticed the first couple were missing smoothness and grace in the execution of their required steps. For example, their landing after a lift did not flow easily into the next step. This team of skaters were 15 and 16 years old.

The skill levels increased with each skating team as the program progressed.

I began to notice the escalating abilities, the ease of motion, the confidence levels - the skaters comfort level with each other and on the ice.

When I watched Scot and Tessa, the skill levels jumped ahead of all the rest. Their performance was seamless - I love that description - it accurately describes their skating, their togetherness, their ability to move through each of their steps.

They were so seamless that the other skaters seemed to be broken up into chunks of activity.

Like a film strip - when slowed down each frame is obvious and still, but when you speed up the process of viewing the frames merge together, seamlessly. What was still becomes motion.

I want to know how Tessa and Scot maintained their absolute stillness within throughout their performance. It seems to me that they have mastered the art of perfect connection to God within.

I have experienced oneness with my partner on a few occasions in my dancing. It is like being in a zone of timelessness with our energies being completely synchronized. And yes, I seek that experience in all my dancing. Perhaps it is that which kept me striving for excellence in my own skills.

I have but one disappointment in my life - that I was unable to find a partner with whom to sustain that synchronized experience for more than just a few random moments. But it is never too late - as long as I am alive and well - who knows what lies ahead for me.

Thank you Tessa and Scot - I have seen the wonder of God within each of you - as one spirit moving gracefully, elegantly, confidently, with awesome peace and joy - that is the peace that passeth understanding - "seamlessness".

A spiritual perspective

Another of the many benefits of meditation is that I can accept my human-ness and move on to what is most important to me - PEACE WITHIN.

After venting about the seeming injustices out there in the world, I realize that the best solution is let go of resistance to what my ego presents to me as unacceptable. Resistance is futile. It simply creates more of what I am resisting.

So now, with my attention tuned within to peace and joy in the stillness - that is always there and so easy to access - I see the true beauty of this planet, the awesome ever expanding universe with billions of galaxies - how humbling that is.

The perfection of everything including evolution that goes way beyond what my little ego can comprehend.

It is so easy and so peaceful - nothing else matters.

GIMME A BEER, EH!

Hume: Canada's Olympic pavilion an ugly pre-fab dud
Feds' official building is a $10 million architectural portrait of public-sector cynicism
February 10, 2010

Christopher Hume

I love my country at least the physical part.

It's easy to love Canada when you live in British Columbia, in Vancouver yet.

Coming from Toronto - which I also loved while I was there and a very inexperienced traveller, BC is unbelievably beautiful - mountains and water everywhere.

But I guess if I were to travel to Europe, I would be ecstatic about the mountains and the oceans there too.

So here I am in Vancouver a few days away from the opening of the Olympic Games, and I read this article by C. Hume.

I saw the Canada Pavilion as I was walking in the Granville, Robson, Burrard neighborhood. At first I did not realize it as a pavilion. My eyes wandered to the second floor - the top floor - of a gray rectangular aluminum and glass structure that honestly looked to me like a large storage unit or mechanics garage with some of the panels replaced with glass.

I allowed my gaze to stay there until I figured out what I was actually looking at and frankly, it took me a while to see that it was a pavilion - and that it was Canada's - Chris Hume is so right - how embarrassing.

After my surprise, then disappointment I had to laugh - Canada is a joke -

I couldn't agree more with everything he writes in his article. That this thing cost $10 million is shocking. That is was built by an American firm shows a total lack of respect for the Canadian economy, and indeed it sends a message to me that we Canadians are being laughed at and disrespected by our own elected government.

I just wanna Duck tape it all up - Red Green style - with our own symbol for "gimme a beer, eh!"

And then I learned that all of the uniforms for the volunteers were made in China, and that The Bay has an exclusive on selling the official Olympics products - all of the proceeds go to the Olympic fund - so they say. The Bay is also American owned.

I'm not usually as nationalistically patriotic as I am lately - but the more I pay attention to what is going on the less I enjoy it. Even our Mayor, the man I voted for, Gregor Robertson, who seriously wants to make this the greenest city in the world - is allowing our only tropical garden, the Bloedel Conservatory to be closed - it happens to be located on one of the highest part of Vancouver in a beautiful park with a beautiful view (after they chopped some of the trees down).

Me thinks they want to get their hands on the Moore sculpture worth $11 million for some reason - I wonder which developer will acquire the rights to build housing for the rich up there.

Wow I sound so jaded - is it my age?