Winners

The big winner....There can only be one.

As many of you may know by now, someone that is fighting a brave battle inspires this blog.  I was lucky enough to spend the weekend with this somebody. This leads me to thinking about winners. I have been to hundreds of races in my lifetime.  I have sometimes been a winner and often more realistically, a participant.  When we enter into a race, we realize that the odds of winning an event are quite slim.  I have never been a big fan of the quote…”everyone’s a winner”.   The athlete in me says…”I don’t think so”.  But there is much truth to this quote.  I have learned from training many children and being immersed in sport since infancy, that being fully involved in your passion makes you feel like a winner. For this reason, we see thousands of people entering marathons, Ironman events, and races of all shapes and sizes. Today's blog photos show just a few winners as they take on the great ironman challenge.  Winning comes with the journey. From the moment we take on a challenge, we become victorious in life because we have decided to embrace it.  Through the high points and the low points we win because we have opened out hearts to everything that is possible. Real winners come in all shapes and sizes.  In life, real winners are the people that despite all the odds against them , see the value in being part of this great event. Real winners realize that they are fortunate to have been given an opportunity to participate at all. Real winners never truly give up on the dream of being in the medal hunt.  Real winners smile a lot because the get it. Real winners help others cross the finish line when they see they are needed. Real winners embrace their own every day victories, whether small or large.  There is only one lucky one that gets the #1 spot. I hope that the big winner realizes that the value of his or her win is a result of every participant’s effort. Without this shared experience, the win would mean nothing.  So whether taking on the challenge of learning a skill or more seriously, like fighting a disease, the winner is within each of us as we bravely forge ahead. 

....and all the other winners.